Advent Day 19 Luke 1:18-20

“And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” (Luke 1:18-20 ESV)

The time is drawing near; God’s plans that were made before the foundation of the world are coming together. The promised Messiah’s time to come into humanity and dwell among them is right around the corner. Can you feel it? Can you feel the culmination of God’s prophecies, given hundreds of years earlier by the prophets Isaiah and Micah, about the event of Jesus’ birth? Can you see God working behind the scenes to accomplish His plan of Salvation for all mankind? Can you see that God’s Words are being fulfilled in their proper time?

During the time of Isaiah the prophet, the nation of Israel was in desperate need of some good news. They were facing invasion and deportation by the Assyrians, a brutal people that God used to fulfill His judgment against Israel's idolatry and falling away from God’s Covenant with Israel. Remember in Exodus and Deuteronomy where God promised blessings to the nation of Israel if they would keep His commandments, and curses if they did not. Israel was now reaping the punishment of their disobedience to God. All they could see before them was this horrible nation, Assyria, that God was using to bring chastisement on His people. They saw no way out, no way of being returned to God’s good graces. But here comes Isaiah, the prophet of God the Most High, giving them words of hope: their God had not forgotten them or their descendants, and would provide a savior not only for His chosen people but for all the peoples of the world.

Luke recounts the marvelous announcement of the “forerunner” of the promised Messiah, John the Baptist, whose purpose was to introduce God’s chosen people to the promised Messiah, the “Anointed One” on whom they had been waiting for 700 years.

The parents of John “were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.” But did you notice that their prayers for a child had not been granted to them? According to our scale of “fairness”, that just doesn’t seem right? God said they were blameless, not sinless, but blameless in following God’s Law. So, why didn’t God grant them their heart's desire of a child of their own? Gabriel, the angel of the Lord, who by the way stood in the very presence of God Almighty, gave Z the answer to that very question. Gabriel said that all of God’s promises and God’s plans “will be fulfilled in their time.” You see, God doesn’t operate on our time clock; God operates on “the right things being done at the right time” so that His ordained plans will come to fruition, and He can be glorified. You can’t get any fairer than that, can you?

You see, Zechariah and Elizabeth were willing to accept any child that they could love and train up in righteousness, but God had other plans that they knew nothing about. God wanted to honor them with a child that would grow up in righteousness and would “make straight the way of the Lord”, the promised Messiah. Isn’t that the way it is with God? He doesn’t always answer the prayers we pray; He answers the prayers we don’t even know we should pray.

So often, our expectations of God are very small. But God’s plans are for much more than we could have ever asked. Can you imagine Zechariah and Elizabeth both wondering what they had done wrong for God to be punishing them by not giving them a child of their own? They could have never dreamed of God giving them “this child”, that would be filled with the Holy Spirit while in his mother's womb, this child that would turn God’s chosen people back to God, this child that would “make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

See my friends, when we realize that all of God’s promises “will be fulfilled in their time.”, it changes our lives. No longer are we driven by our own timetable, by our own scale of fairness, or by our own limited understanding of events. Once we understand that our God is in control, that our God is willing to use us for His glory, that our God’s promises “will be fulfilled in their time.”, it changes everything.

The promise of God to provide “The Savior” of the world happened. God allowed this older couple, who were both well beyond the age of having children, to participate in the greatest blessing this world has ever known. The birth of our blessed redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, and to use their son to let the world know.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"

Advent Prayer Day 19

Father,

Help us to trust in your timing.

We know that all things were created by you, in your time.

Help us to see beyond our own circumstances and see this world with your eyes.

We know that everything you do is perfect, help us put our trust in you and rest in your perfect timing.

In the name of our risen Savior, Christ Jesus, we pray, Amen.