Hello,

At one time or another we have all had a hearts desire, a hope, a longing for something to happen.  For Zechariah and Elizabeth it was to have a baby and they had prayed and waited and waited until finally in their old age hope for this desire died.  Silent disappointment wraps itself around our hearts and often we don’t notice until the next time a desire touches our hearts.  Longing rises then meets the ceiling of disappointment.  Voices tell us not to expect too much or even nothing at all.  Quietly, subtly we stop believing and our vision of who God is diminishes.  Over time, like a dripping tap, unbelief becomes our normal.

Today we join Zechariah at this place and see what happens when God breaks in.

Photo by Karen Way – Christmas at Chatsworth House

 Luke 1 tells the story of Zechariah the priest, chosen for the honour of burning incense in the temple.

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

5 When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. 6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.
8 One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. 9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense.10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.
11 While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar.12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”
19 Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! 20 But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. 22 When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.
23 When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. 24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25 “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”
 Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth knew the ache of waiting, longing, hoping, yet until now they had not seen its fulfilment, both personally in their desire for a child and for their people with the coming Messiah. Still they did what was right in the eyes of God.
I love the integrity of this couple.  I love how God calls them righteous.  
Our relationship with God exists and is founded on his character and nature; that is God is who He says He is and He will always be true to himself.   When we walk through painful or difficult circumstances we are tempted to believe lies about who God is.  “If God is good then why is this happening to me?  When we do that the effects of those lies causes us to withdraw from God and we begin to form and rely on our own beliefs about who God is and our integrity is undermined.  
 
Walking along the coastal path on the Isle of wight, I saw the crumbling coastline.  Erosion, sinking, lack of maintenance contribute to this and the coastline is receding with alarming speed. The integrity of the rock has been undermined leaving homes damaged beyond repair and homeowners in fear.
 
Ask God to show you if there are any areas of erosion in your relationship with Him. 
Have you believed lies about His Character and Nature? 
 
 
God initiates with Zechariah and it is most unexpected. An Angel appears and speaks to him.  In those days, God spoke to his people through The Prophets, not the priests so this must have come as quite a shock to Zechariah!  The Angel tells him that their prayer has been heard and they will bear a son.
This salvation announcement was so different to Zechariah’s expectations he responds in unbelief and the consequence is, he is struck dumb. I can identify!   I wonder how often I have responded in unbelief because the way God answers my prayer is so different than my expectations.
Lord give us a growing expectancy to meet Jesus as we wait for God’s promised salvation 

 

We pray that we will not miss you and your ways when you initiate into our lives to answer our prayers.
 
Melissa Helser sings beautiful surrender.  Her Confession is 

Beautiful Surrender
is where I wanna be Locked into Your arms, for all eternity Come and take my hand, You can lead me where You please That Beautiful Surrender is chasing after me

 
We can make that our own confession and prayer as we worship.
Posted in Advent Reflection, Devotions, Heart to Heart and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,