Can I Be Sure?

Luke 1:18-20 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” 19 The angel answered, “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. 20 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 proper time.”
 
GABRIEL, God’s messenger, has just spoken a very impossible promise to the priest Zechariah. “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John…in the spirit and power of Elijah.” Zechariah would know that this is Malachi’s prophecy come true! (Malachi 4:5 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.)
    God had taken Elijah to heaven in the chariots and horsemen of Israel! (2 Kings 2:12) For 400 years since Malachi’s prophecy the Jews had waited for Elijah to return from heaven to announce the coming of the Messiah.
    But now Zechariah has heard that a son he did not believe would ever be born to him is the prophetic fulfillment! Centuries of waiting is about to bear fruit. Is this possible? Zechariah didn’t think so. His response, “How can this be?” was denying God’s Word and purpose. The priest who knew the law and the prophets did not recognize God’s grace to answer Zechariah’s and all Israel’s prayers.
    This happens to us, doesn’t it? For example, do we wonder if we can believe Jesus’ words as recorded in Matthew 6:33: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”  Worry comes easy, doesn’t it? “Now what do I do?” is an immediate response to distressful and challenging circumstances. Jesus’ assurance seems too simple. “How can this be?” our Lord would teach us to so deeply trust him? How difficult it is to release our questions, so we can hold tightly to the sovereign King.
    God loves you, and he wants you to be close to his grace. He doesn’t strike us speechless in our, “How can this be?” lack of faith as he did Zechariah. Instead he teaches us to learn of his love. He wants us to use our words to confess our love and our faithfulness to him.
    God’s promise to the priest is of a new day to come to the earth. Because he remained faithful, Zechariah moved past his unbelief to know a true, life-giving faith. True, they will easily confess, “The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (Psalm 46:10-11) Zechariah’s and Elizabeth’s lives will have new meaning. When John is born, Zechariah will speak of God’s love, goodness and power with a full trust in God’s “impossible” work.
      
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for your promise to be with us each moment of each day. Grow my faith to exalt you in all my speech. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.