“Sometimes we have to hit rock bottom before we can get back up. And for many of you someone you love is down in a pit. God’s arm is not too short (to pull them out). All things are possible with God.”
All things are possible with God. These words do not seem like a typical Christmas message.
But to author and speaker Liz Curtis Higgs, these words have everything to do with the birth of Christ.
On Friday night, Higgs, who is well known for large-scale events such as Women of Faith, brought her message to a more intimate setting of more than 175 women at the Billy Graham Library’s Ladies Night Out. The evening concluded with a signing of her new release, The Women of Christmas.
“I wrote this book because I am so fascinated that God chose to use women in very distinct roles in the story of Christ’s birth,” she explained. “He could have done this any way He wanted. And He wanted Jesus to be Son of God and Son of man. So He needed a woman for that.”
In The Women of Christmas, Higgs explores the stories of Elizabeth (Jesus’ cousin), Mary (Jesus’ mother) and Anna (a widowed prophetess)—and how those stories were woven into the birth of the Messiah.
For Ladies Night Out, Higgs used her book as a springboard to teach lessons of faith that can be seen through experiences of Elizabeth and Mary: all things are possible with God.
She shared the story of 70-year-old Elizabeth and her husband, Zechariah, a priest. They were childless, and clearly beyond the age of fertility. They had prayed for decades for a child.
Then one day, God answered their prayers.
Even though Zechariah seemed skeptical—all things are possible with God.
“Sometimes, like Elizabeth and Zechariah, we feel like we have been praying for something for years. And some of us speak and think unbelief like Zechariah did. But we need to pray, believing,” she explained.
“With God, anything is possible. What is your ‘anything’ that you think can’t be fixed?”
Then she told the story of a faith-filled, young virgin Mary who accepted the privilege—and the price—of physically bearing the King of Kings.
And as with the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah, nothing is impossible with God.
“God didn’t choose Mary because she was amazing. Mary was amazing because God chose her,” Higgs told the crowd. “And the Lord chose Mary because He knew she would say ‘yes.’ Think about it—all of history has moved to this point because an innocent 12-year-old girl said ‘yes.’”
Hearing the Christmas story approached in that way inspired women at the event to put more trust in God to work wonders—and to give Him their yes.
Linda Skorackyj is one of those women.
“Hearing the message from tonight reminds me that God still does miracles. And He hears our prayers when we really need for something to happen,” said Skorackyj.
“The timing of the message tonight is also so good for everyone as we head into the holiday season and need to be refreshed for a new year. With a new year, we can have a new hope in Christ.”
