Response

Zechariah said to the angel, "How can I be sure this will happen?..." Luke 1:18 NLT

In the first chapter of the book of Luke, the angel Gabriel visited two expectant parents separately and a short time apart. His news that each would soon welcome a tiny bundle of joy was met with two completely different responses.

One response was laced with faith, and one with doubt.

When Gabriel appeared to Zechariah he told him that he would father a son who was to be named John. He then shared with Zechariah that his son would have the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah, and would prepare the people of Israel for the coming of the Lord.

Zechariah responded by asking Gabriel, How can I be sure this will happen?

There is no doubt that Zechariah was certain that he was speaking to an angel -- scripture says he was overwhelmed at the sight of Gabriel. And there is no doubt that Zechariah knew that he was receiving a word from God, Himself.

Yet, Zechariah doubted. Zechariah questioned, not only God's ability, but he questioned His word. He doubted God's word to him.

How can I be sure this will happen?

With one question, Zechariah took his focus off of the angel of God. He took His focus off of the word of God. He took His focus off of God entirely, and he put it squarely on himself -- I.

Zechariah's faith faltered and doubt overwhelmed.

I see myself so clearly in Zechariah.

I want to believe what God says to me in every difficult and overwhelming circumstance of my life. I want to walk through the journey of my life by faith. Yet, I find myself doubting.

The truth is that Zechariah's question is one I find myself asking way more often than I would like to admit. In fact, next to my pitiful moan that I simply don't understand what You're doing God, the question How can I be sure may very well be the most common phrase I voice in prayer.

The ironic thing is that the answer to Zechariah's question -- the answer to my own question -- is simply Faith.

We can be sure that what God says will happen will happen by Faith. The writer of Hebrews described faith as the reality of what is hoped for and the proof of what is not seen (Hebrews 11:1 HCSB).

Faith is what makes us sure that what God says will happen, will happen.

When we struggle to be sure of God's word to us, we are lacking faith. Not because it's not available to us. It is a gift of God, after all. But because we aren't grasping faith. Holding onto it. And utilizing the gift that God so generously gives to us, His children.

We allow doubt to overwhelm. And in doing so, we lose our voice. At least for a time.

Gabriel told Zechariah that because of his unbelief he would be unable to speak until his son was born. For months, Zechariah could have spoken in faith of a son who hadn't yet arrived. He could have told over and over what the angel of God had told him about his son's life. 

But Zechariah was silent because of his doubt.

Doubt silences faith.

When he finally found his voice, Zechariah spoke in faith. He told of Jesus and of his own son. He believed God's word at that point, and he shared it with everyone around him.

But by the time Zechariah voiced his faith, a portion of the word that God had given him through the angel had already been fulfilled. A portion of the message of faith that he could have proclaimed had already come to pass.

I wonder how many more people Zechariah could have shared his faith with if his first response to God's word in his life had not been one of doubt. I wonder how much more powerful his message would have been if he had shared the full message in faith.

I wonder how many more people I could reach for God if my first response to His word in my life would become one of faith, and not of doubt.

I wonder what could happen if I would learn to respond to God more like Mary did.

When Gabriel appeared to Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the same chapter of scripture his revelation to her was met with a different kind of response. A response as different as faith is to doubt.

Mary asked the angel, But how can this happen? (Luke 1:34)

Mary's question was a question of awe and wonder. A question of faith. Not of doubt. We know this because she is allowed to speak again in her encounter with Gabriel and her words are words of faith.

Upon Gabriel's response to her that nothing is impossible with God, Mary responded by saying I am the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true.

Mary's response to God's word to her becomes a prayer. A prayer of faith.

May everything you have said about me come true.

As I contemplate these two people and their responses to God, I wonder what would happen in my own life if I began to pray Mary's prayer of faith instead of asking Zechariah's question of doubt.

Dear Lord, may every word You have spoken to me come true.

I can tell you what happened to Mary. She was not silent. She sang a song of praise even before God's words had been fulfilled.

Mary sang a song of praise by faith.

Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. (Luke 1:46)

Mary praised in the midst of God's word to her. Not after it came to pass, but as it was coming to pass.

Mary prayed and she praised.

That is a response of faith.

(Journey: Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-28; Luke 1:5-80)