Luke 1:1-25
Be Still: Living God, thank you that your Word is alive and active. Bring your Word to life for me today as I read. Amen
Read: Luke 1:1-25
Zechariah asked the angel, ‘How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.’ The angel said to him, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.’ (v18-20 NIV)
Encounter: Today’s story is one that can get missed in Luke's narrative of Jesus' birth. It’s a wild story of an angel and a surprise birth, that then gets somewhat (but understandably) trumped by the story of the angel and the surprise birth that follows it.
Here we meet Zechariah and Elizabeth who Luke bluntly describes as being ‘very old’. When an angel says they’re going to have a baby, Zechariah’s response is, ‘How can I be sure of this?’ Zechariah then comes out of the temple unable to speak and straight into a game of charades where the poor guy is having to act out ‘an-angel-said-we’re-going-to-have-a-baby’.
It’s easy to think this silencing is some kind of punishment for his doubting questioning but notice God doesn’t cancel the promise or dismiss Zechariah. Fortunately, the faithfulness of God doesn’t depend on us. As Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:13 ‘If we are faithless, he remains faithful - for he cannot deny himself’.
Yet Zechariah’s doubting response does mean he misses something. He’s received the most incredible news, and yet he can’t talk about it with Elizabeth, or shout about this miracle to his friends and family. Our doubts don’t cancel God’s promises, but they can mean we miss out on the fullness and the joy of life God has for us.
Apply: Zechariah’s story is wild - but his response is very relatable. Where are you struggling to trust the promises of God? Reflect on what this might mean you’re missing out on – whether that be joy, or peace, or experiencing the fullness of what God has for you. Alongside that, reflect on God’s kindness. As Elizabeth says in verse 25 ‘How kind the Lord is!’ - that he remains faithful even when we aren’t.
Devote: Father God, thank you for your kindness. Thank you that you remain faithful even when I’m not. Help me to surrender any doubts today so I can yield to your will and experience the fullness of all you have for me.
