A Crisis of Belief Has Consequences

Luke 1; John 1:1-14 Malachi has passed off the scene, and 400 years of silence have taken place. The people have waited for the Messenger about whom Malachi spoke. Perhaps they had read and reread the scroll that had been prepared listing the names of those who respected and honored the Lord. [Mal 3:16] But God has been busy even when we think He is not. And so, into this time frame, the angel Gabriel stuns the elderly priest Zechariah with news that God has heard, and God has answered. He sent Gabriel with news that God sees the possible, even to awakening a dormant womb.

Zechariah listens as Gabriel says that their prayers have been heard! Elizabeth will have a son, and they are to call him John, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord; be a Nazarite and anointed with the Holy Spirit—even before he is born! But Zechariah has a crisis of belief, and Gabriel silences him until John is born.

Sometimes, we pray and pray, and it seems like heaven’s door is closed permanently, but this story reminds us to never stop praying and never stop thinking God doesn’t hear or care. Beware of being an unbelieving Zechariah that ended up being silenced until John’s birth.