"The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people" (Luke 1:25).
Luke 1:5-25 describes how Elizabeth, the childless wife of a priest, learns that she will give birth to a prophet named John the Baptist, thus taking away her disgrace as a barren woman which was considered to be a curse from God (cf. Gen 1:28). God's passion is to take away our disgrace (Lk 1:25) — the disgrace of our failure, our misfortune, our sin, and even of our circumstances. Elizabeth being childless was a circumstance beyond her control but still considered a disgrace by many people in her time and her culture.
What disgrace, disappointment, or disaster do you have that is holding upi back? Will you openly confess it and the feelings that it fosters within you, and ask God to take it away?