What is your story?

    Zechariah and Elizabeth felt the reproach and shame of being childless.  In their day, being without an heir carried a stigma.  It meant that God was somehow displeased with one or both of you.  Now it seemed that the condition was permanent. They were old.  Their hopes had faded with their youth.  Luke tells us they were upright in the sight of God. They observed all of the regulations and commandments. But they were still childless.  I feel confident they prayed and prayed often about their situation. And they still had no infant.

   

    What is your story? What dreams of yours have faded? When did hope begin to fail?  Have you laid aside the plans of  youth, traded in for the practicality of daily living and marking time until the Lord calls you home?  Or is your feeling even more desperate?  Has your faith turned into religious routine? Has unbelief begun to creep in?  

    Zechariah's career kept him on duty. He still served as a priest, taking his turn with the priestly division of Abijah. It paid the bills.  But the silence from heaven was deafening.  The Lord had not spoken to men directly since the time of Malachi, some 400 years earlier. The waiting and working continued.  

    "Zechariah, come in here. I want to speak to you."  The words were never spoken, but the purpose was clear.  While being dutiful, Zechariah went into the Holy Place to offer incense.  It was the moment of a lifetime, with some evidence that due to the number of priests, this offering was limited to just once per priest.  Those selected to serve in the Holy Place on that day entered, completed their duties and withdrew, leaving Zechariah alone before the alter of incense.

    "Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the alter of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and gripped with fear."  I can only imagine! 

    God works in our lives with His own timing. It seems that often He waits until it will be obvious that only He could produce the result.  That doesn't mean He shouldn't be praised when His timing is more to our liking.  But Zechariah's response intrigues me and leads me to wonder how I respond when I understand the answer to my prayers.

    Sometimes a reverent fear is most appropriate.  But I have to admit, sometimes my fears of disappointment lead me to ask, like Zechariah, "How can I be sure of this?"  I can usually offer reasons why this answer from God will fall through.

    Today, I want to learn to pray, to ask the Lord to rule in my impossible situation.  To be able to believe and continue believing in His answer and His willingness to work in and through us.  My request is for the next generation of believers to rise up, empowered and faithful to know, worship and serve the Lord God of the Scriptures.  I want my story to be about Jesus.