December 7 “Making Room for God’s Impossible Plans”
Luke 1:18-25
Anthony and Hannah Almaraz
Devotional Reading
After God promises Zacharias that he will have a son, Zacharias struggles to believe God because it sounds so grand, so far-off, and so impossible. As a result of his lack of agreement with God, Zacharias is made mute for the following 9 months. What things has God spoken to us over our lives that seem so grand, that it’s hard for us to agree with them? Advent is about making room in our lives for God’s words to rule and reign in our hearts more than our doubts about His words.
Once In a Life Time
God steps into time to give the gracious gift of Yochanan the Immerser (John The Baptist) to a humble Levitical Priest, Zachariah and his wife, Elizabeth whom were both found to be righteous before God, blameless in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. Zachariah’s service was not an every day occurrence. The priests served for one week twice a year and he won the lottery, literally. Zachariah’s lot was cast to burn the incense, which was the highest honor and could only be performed once in a priest’s life time. God encountered Zachariah in the temple and Zachariah doubted what Gabriel told him about having a child. Why? Why is it that we can doubt God even when he speaks to us in such a dramatic fashion? Are our doubts so great that we question God? Have we waited so long for something that we give up on it, stop praying and believing? Zachariah and Eliza- beth would have surely known of the account in the Torah of Abraham and Sarah receiving a child in their old age and how God gave Samuel to Hannah. If he did these miracles for them, could he not do it for Elizabeth and Zachariah also? Zachariah’s own name means, “God has remembered”. During this season in our lives let us remember God’s faithfulness for us. Let us continue to pray and believe and remember that He does not forget us!
Making Room
1. Imagine for yourself what it was like when John the Baptist was born. What was that day like for Zachariah and Elizabeth? If you were in their shoes, how would you respond to the Lord’s plans?