Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth were righteous people. The Bible
says that they observed the Lord’s commands blamelessly (Luke 1:6). But they
had a problem. They had no children because Elizabeth was barren. (Luke 1:7).
Yet they continued to serve the Lord faithfully.
One day, while Zechariah was burning incense, serving in the
temple, he had an encounter. An angel appeared to him and told him that his
prayer had been heard. He will have a son called John who would be a joy and
who would be great in the Lord’s sight.
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.” (Luke 1:18-20).
This portion of Scripture is loaded. A few
lessons that stood out to me…
1. It pays to be
consistent and faithful to God. We shouldn’t allow our circumstances (e.g.
barrenness) to stop us from serving God faithfully. [Luke 1:6]
2. Zechariah had an encounter in the midst of prayer.
In those times, incense was burned in the temple twice a day. When the people
saw the smoke from the burning incense, they would pray. The smoke drifting
heavenward represented their prayers ascending to God. So, prayer creates an
atmosphere for encounters. [Luke 1:8-10].
3. God hates unbelief! Zechariah questioned
what the angel said because he looked at his situation. The angel, Gabriel,
didn’t come to convince Zechariah. He came to tell him to what was to come.
Whatever God has promised you and I won’t take what we have. We don’t have what
it takes. All God is looking for is our faith! [Luke 1:18-20].
4. Zechariah became mute after this
encounter. Gabriel told him he would be silent until
the fulfillment of the promise. I found this to be significant
because I realised that sometimes, God will have to shut us up to stop us
from talking ourselves out of the promise and out of destiny. If Zechariah had carried on talking,
he would probably have continued to confess his disbelief. God cannot work where
there is no faith! [Luke 1:20].
5. My pastor always says “All you need is the
hand of God to change your story.” After Zechariah had this encounter, his
story changed. He was no longer childless. His destiny was transformed by this
encounter. Seek God and seek encounters with Him. Destiny is at stake.
Every blessing!
#JoyUnspeakable
