Say what?

Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” Luke 1:18 (NIV)

            The days of hoping and praying were long past. Zechariah and Elizabeth had passed that window of time when she could conceive and bear a child. The crib, the baby clothes, the blankets had all been packed away along with their hopes and dreams. There would be no children’s voices to fill the silent house, no little hands to hold on to, no babies or grandbabies to fill their empty arms.

            Hope deferred tends to turn us into cynics. It’s hard to keep hope alive in the face of constant let-downs. So we give up on our dreams and settle for the status quo. That’s what Zechariah did. After all, his wife was past her childbearing years.

When the angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah and told him Elizabeth would bear him a son, Zechariah’s reaction was one of disbelief. “Say what? I’m an old man and my wife is too.”  When he questioned the angel’s words, he was really questioning God’s ability to work a miracle; “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

Doubt. Such a bane in the Christian’s life. Isn’t that how Satan got Eve to eat the forbidden fruit? The enemy loves to whisper doubt, especially when we are most vulnerable. He doesn’t bring into question God’s existence as much as he causes us to question God’s character and His plan.

            God countered Zechariah’s doubt by working a jaw-dropping miracle; He turned their barrenness into blessing. The woman who was ‘too old’ became a mother. Those empty arms would be empty no more. For she would bear a son. Gloom would be transformed into gladness.            

Never question God’s love for you because God’s love is never in question.

Thought: “Doubt not his grace because of thy tribulation but believe that he loveth thee as much in seasons of trouble as in times of happiness.” – Charles Spurgeon