Arrival: Day 5

December 5, 2018

And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.  And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared. “And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”

         Recently I have found myself in Zechariah’s shoes with his mindset. Imagine this scene: Zechariah is standing before the altar of God and suddenly an angel appears and gives him a calling and a promise all in one. The promise is for a baby in his old age and the calling is to raise up this baby to become the one to prepare the way for the Christ. Who wouldn’t be terrified? How should a man react to this sort of news? How am I supposed to react as I feel the weight of the calling placed upon my life? How are you to react with the calling placed upon yours?

            This morning as I read this passage again, I realized my unbelief resembles Zechariah’s. Obviously, my life and calling are completely different from his. However, I think that when the Creator asks us to follow Him and to do what He has planned it is hard to not doubt that He will do what He promises to do. This is the place he has found himself in. He sees the angel and he knows that what the angel declares is what will happen. Yet his humanity takes over and he looks too far into the future instead of focusing on the present. God’s promise will be fulfilled and the calling He places upon Zechariah and Elizabeth’s life is accomplished but not without doubt. 

            As I realize yet again what the Father has called me to I’m begging him to help me with my doubt. Will I be able to do this? Will I accomplish what he has asked of me without failing? My prayer is this: instead of having to wait in quietness to see His promises fulfilled I want to continually walk to His throne and lay myself and my doubts at his feet, knowing that I am no longer waiting on my Savior to arrive. He is here with me now!