You Have to Be Kidding!

Do you say this to God? Do you doubt his ability to do what he says? Remember, God is not bound by the limitations of the human mind to comprehend. In Luke we are told Zechariah suffers because he did not believe the messenger sent to him from God. The message should have been one to bring him great joy. Instead, Zechariah doubted. He did not believe what God’s messenger said and he suffered.

“The angel answered, ‘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 proper time.’" Luke 1:19-20 NIV

True, the message Gabriel brought to Zechariah was a physical impossibility, but Zechariah was a priest in high standing who knew Scriptures. He would have been familiar with the fact that the angel Gabriel had visited Daniel two times approximately five hundred years earlier. (Daniel 8:15-17, 9:21) Besides, Zechariah was in the temple of the Lord burning incense to God. Gabriel appeared at the right side of the altar and identified himself. Shouldn’t Zechariah have been more receptive to God’s messenger since he was in the middle of a very special ceremony for worshipping God?

So what would you have done if you had been in Zechariah’s place? In all honesty, I probably would have responded in disbelief too. Even in the presence of an angel, Zechariah was relying on his wisdom even though he was an upright, godly man. I like to think of myself as an upright, godly woman; however, like Zechariah, I struggle with placing my earthly wisdom above the Word of God. I want to rationalize and manipulate directions I know are coming from God.

How in tune with God are you? Do you recognize his directions to you? Do you respond to his instructions in faith? What have you read in the Bible that you do not accept because it is not logical? How would you respond to an angel in your presence?

Lord, take away the doubt that plagues my faith. Make me less dependent on my wisdom and more dependent on you.