Scripture Reading(s)
Luke 1:57-65
57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.
58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah,
60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”
61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child.
63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”
64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God.
65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things.
66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
Reflections
Exercising our faith can often times to difficult and challenging. In the verses leading up to this, Zechariah had been told by an angle that he and his wife would have a son. His response was one that was filled with doubt. The reasoning is because his wife was old and past the stage of being able to physically have kids. However, God had intended for them to bring John into the world and this is a story in which when God sets a plan in motion, despite the impossible nature, it always comes to pass.
From this passage we can learn that God, in His attempt to test our true faith, will go to the extreme to show us that His words are true and that we ought to walk by faith and not by sight. The people surrounding Elizabeth and Zechariah were filled with joy but were also aware that he had lost his ability to speak due to his lack of faith. However, we also know that Zechariah was a man that was truly devoted to God and when he came to realization that God’s words are true, that is when God granted him his speech back.
There are times when it takes us having to go through an uncomfortable experience in order for God to humble us and teach us to trust Him. We can also learn that the appropriate response to God’s promises coming to light is to turn and praise Him. One Zachariah gained his ability to speak, he was immediately thankful and filled with joy and gratitude towards God. Praise God for always being faithful towards us despite our tendency to sin and fall into doubt.