Meditations
Is your confidence placed in the Word oof God when you fear and troubled?
Fear fell on Zacharias, the priest, whose lot was to burn incense in the Lord's temple at Jerusalem. He saw an angel of the Lord standing at the right side of the altar. Luke 1:11-12.
Unable to quite believe what the angel told him, Zacharias asked, "Whereby shall I know this? He thought that he and his wife, Elizabeth, were much too old to be having a baby boy born to them now.
The angel had even said, "thou shalt call his name John. And "many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord. Being great' meant four things: John would not drink wine or strong drink, he would be filled with the Holy Ghost, he would turn many Israelites to the Lord their God, and he would in the spirit and power of Elijah prepare people for Christ's coming by turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just. Luke 1:13-18.
Of course, this could not have happened to finer people. This priest and his wife were righteous before God and walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. Luke 1:6.
Then the angel revealed himself to the priest. He was Gabriel, the one who stands in the presence of God. He answered Zacharias that "thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed. "Luke 1:19-20.
Neighbors and kinsfolk were surprised after the child was born because Elizabeth named him John, instead after his father, Zacharias. Upon being asked about it, the old priest, yet unable to speak, wrote: "His name is John! immediately, his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed and he spoke the praises of God. Luke 1:13, 58-64.
God had sent Gabriel with the glad tidings about the birth of John who would make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Luke 1:17. And the words were fulfilled in their season though Zacharias feared, was troubled and could not quite believe them at first.
The Lord can perform His will in your life as he did in the lives of Zacharias, Elizabeth and John. Your faith in His word will shield you from worldly fears as you walk worthy of God who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory. I Thessalonians 2:12.