“Make Ready A People

Prepared For The Lord”

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Luke 1:5-17

Zechariah had probably asked God for a child many years before the angel appeared to him. But he struggled with Gabriel’s message because his wife Elizabeth was well beyond child-bearing years.

Sometimes our Lord’s answer to our prayers is “no,” other times it may be “wait.” God’s response is always measured with love. God’s ways are well beyond us, but we can trust that they are good.

Zechariah had asked for a son, but God gave him even more. His son John would grow up to be the very prophet who would announce the arrival of the Messiah.

When we cannot see God’s hand at work, we can still trust His heart.

Our Daily Bread – November 6, 2017