December 8th

December 8: Luke 1: 18-25

Luke 1:18-25  (NIV)

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

The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

Reflection

Zechariah didn’t believe God would give them a child. This is a common theme in the Bible, specifically not believing God about having a child in old age (i.e. Abraham and Sarah). It’s also a more general idea that God’s plans for our future are so crazy that it’s impossible to believe they will happen. Think about that for a second: God’s plans for people’s lives tend to be so big, crazy and insane that it’s common in the Bible for people to say to God, “That’s not possible. I don’t believe you.”

Do you think we will ever realize that that’s just how God works? Ephesians 3:20 says it like this:

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…”

What if this Christmas, you really believed God could do more in your life than you could ever imagine?

Prayer

God, the One who does more than we could ever imagine, help us to trust you, especially when it seems impossible.