Luke 1:18-25
As we continue our look at the kinds of people God uses,
some of the things in today’s text may take us by surprise. However, as we look at them it should be a
source of encouragement to us as well.
Many times we think that the characters presented to us in Scripture
were “larger than life.” In reality,
they were simply normal people who are presented in Scripture with all of their
failings and flaws. As we see the
reaction of Zacharias and Elizabeth we will clearly be able to see that they
were no exception to this rule. The Lord
is able to use people despite of their weaknesses. That is not to say that we should not be
concerned with our failings but it should help us not to become discouraged and
just give up when we come face to face with our own limitations. God has always used real people and continues
to do so today. We are natural but God
super-natural and can even use us to accomplish His work. As we observe the four reactions that
Zacharias and Elizabeth had to the news of John’s conception it should be a
source of great encouragement to us.
DOUBT: The reaction of Zacharias to Gabriel’s message should
give all of us hope. As we have been
looking at the Descriptions of John and his parents it might be easy for us to
conclude that God only uses perfect people.
There are no such people. We must
strive for holiness in our lives but we must also recognize that all of us are
extremely flawed and desperately in need of the grace of God. The first reaction we see to the announcement
of John’s conception was doubt.
Zacharias had been praying for a child but when God sent an answer to
his prayer he asked for a sign so that he could be assured of the truth of this
wonderful announcement. There are times
when the will of God for our lives just seems impossible to us. It is not so much that we doubt God’s
ability; it is just that we doubt His wisdom in choosing us. Often it is a case of us thinking that
something is simply too good to be true.
We see that this is a very common thread all through Scripture of how
the people that God calls are often filled with doubts and ask for signs. Abraham, Moses, the children of Israel,
Gideon, Hezekiah, the disciples, John the Baptist and many others doubted the
clear revelation of God and asked for some sort of confirmation. This kind of doubt is not pleasing to God but
God did use these imperfect people with imperfect faith. Our faith may not always be as strong as it
should be, but it is a comfort to know that God’s power and faithfulness is not
dependent upon our faith.
DISCIPLINE: Second, we see the reaction of discipline. The sign that Gabriel gave to Zacharias was
being mute until John was born. When he
came out of the temple, he was unable to talk and remained that way just as Gabriel
said. This would be a constant reminder
to him over the next nine months of the promise of God and the importance of
the job he and his wife had been given.
Any time he might be tempted to doubt his experience with Gabriel; the
fact that he could not talk would remind him of the fact of his
experience. God does tolerate our doubt
and use us despite our doubts; but there are consequences to the frailty of our
faith. The discipline of the Lord in our
lives is a demonstration of His commitment to us and His paternal relationship
to us. That being said, it would be far
more preferable to avoid the discipline that doubt brings into our lives. God is not limited by our faith but He is
pleased and honored by it. He is
gracious to discipline us in times when our faith is weak as a means of
strengthening our faith for the times in the future that He plans to use
us. Once John was born Zacharias would
have a big job to do so God’s discipline was a means of strengthening his faith
for the task ahead.
DELIGHT: Third, we see the reaction of delight. Gabriel promised that his message would bring
great joy and he was absolutely correct.
When Zacharias returned home to his wife and scribbled his good news
along with his embarrassing confession as to why he was temporarily unable to
talk; Elizabeth was filled with rejoicing.
Imagine the celebration in their home when this old lady announced that
she was pregnant. There are very few
joys in life that compare with finding out that you are going to have a
child. However, the greatest joy that
any of us can experience is the joy of having a right relationship with God and
being used by Him. All of the children
in the world cannot take the place of God in our hearts. Too often people associate being used by God
as a sort of drudgery or an obligation.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Not all that God asks us to do is as delightful as having a baby; but
even when His will includes suffering or personal hardship it is still a great
honor to be an instrument in His hands.
It should always amaze us and fill us with joy when God gives us opportunities
to serve Him. There is no higher calling
and no more rewarding life. When our
delight is in Him; He gives us other delights.
DEVOTION: The fourth response we see is that of devotion. When the news of John’s conception is
confirmed, Elizabeth treasures this in her heart. The happy couple recognized the honor that
they had been given and then devoted themselves to fulfill their part in God’s
plan. They would be responsible to keep
him pure in His youth. They were not
alone in the task as the Spirit of God was enabling them and filling John, but
they did have a job to do. As John grew
they would be responsible for helping him understand his role in God’s
plan. John was not a perfect man either
and they would be responsible for disciplining him as well as for the
discipleship of him. Raising a child is
not an easy job under any circumstances.
Knowing that you were raising John the Baptist would certainly add a
measure of pressure. We must devote
ourselves to the tasks God calls us to accomplish but also learn to depend upon
Him. It is amazing that God is able to
use us. It is confounding that He would
choose to use us. It is vital that we
recognize the grace and, like Zacharias; stand in awe of this privilege. His first reaction at seeing Gabriel was
fear. When we stand in awe of God we
will devote ourselves fully to the mission He has prepared for us.
APPLICATION: We must fight off the tendency of our hearts to
question God or doubt Him. When God
disciplines us we cannot become discouraged but recognize it as His
strengthening of our faith. We should
serve the Lord with a joyful heart in all He asks of us this day and devote
ourselves whole-heartedly to whatever that task may be.
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