"But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John." ~Luke 1:13, NKJV
Zechariah and Elizabeth's story is a familiar one. It resounds in similarity to Abraham and Sarah's tale, but it shows God's grace in new ways. A barren couple ask God for a child. They pray to God, trust in Him to provide their desires, and wait.
For years.
Honestly now, how long does it take for you to quit praying over something important to you? A week? A month? A year? (I average about a month, honestly.) But they waited with unquenchable faith and believed that God would answer them. And this verse describes the moment where Zechariah finds that out.
God sent an angel - a scary being, if you've ever met one - to tell Zechariah the good news while he was performing his duties at the temple. And while we probably associate the command to fear not with the terror of meeting an angel, having a child in that day and age was no small matter. The command might also have referred to...
"Do not be afraid, God is listening!"
"Do not be afraid, you will have a son!"
"Do not be afraid, God is with you!"
All of that and more (c'mon, I'm sure you can think of something!) can be said to you too.
Image: Fotopedia
No comments:
Post a Comment