Believe And Receive - Zechariah

Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”

Luke 1:18

A seminary professor traveling by airplane sat next to a young boy reading a Sunday school take-home paper. Thinking he could have some fun with the boy, he nudged him and said, “Young man, if you can tell me something God can do, I’ll give you a big, shiny apple.”

The boy thought for a moment and then replied, “Mister, if you can tell me something God can’t do, I’ll give you a whole barrel of apples!”

Faith is based on the fact that God keeps his promises, especially the ones that seem humanly impossible.

Zechariah was an elderly priest serving in Jerusalem just prior to the birth of Jesus. His wife, Elizabeth, had no children. They had prayed for a child, but now, in their old age, they expected to live out their lives together without children.

God hadn’t forgotten Zechariah’s prayers! One day, he sent the angel Gabriel to tell him that he and his wife would have a son. God had already appointed this child to prepare the Jewish people for the arrival of their Messiah.

You would think that the appearance of an angel of the Lord would be enough to convince a man of God like Zechariah. However, instead of thanking Gabriel for the message, praising God with every fiber of his being, and running home to tell his wife the amazing news, Zechariah spoke words of unbelief (see Luke 1:18).

This was unfortunate.

God wasn’t about to allow Zechariah’s unbelief to get in the way of what he was doing. God keeps his promises, but because Zechariah had spoken words of unbelief, God struck him speechless.

He missed out on the opportunity to praise God and tell his friends and family the wonderful news.

How do you respond when God makes you a wonderful promise? God loves to show you his goodness and power by doing what is humanly impossible. You receive every blessing he has for you when you respond to him in faith.