Luke 1:10-13 (New International Version, ©2010)
10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 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.
Can you imagine the shock of Zechariah? Here's a guy who is at the pinnacle of his life. He has just, by chance, been drawn to perform special duties for God. He was concentrating fully on the task and was so nervous. I am sure he thought, Wow! "It doesn't get any better than this!" and then POW! It gets to the point of being unbelievable. He is no longer alone. And he is not just in the presence of another human, he is in the presence of a special messenger of God. To say he was startled and gripped with fear, is an understatement.
We serve an amazing God and I think this story tells us a lot about the character of the God of the universe. Would Zechariah have been any less excited had he found out Elizabeth was pregnant through the normal chain of events? Not at all. God did not NEED to tell the news in this manner. God was so excited about this great gift he was about to give. He just had to do it in a big way. Christmas is like that for me. As a parent, I no longer get the same excitement about receiving a Christmas present. But, when I find that special present to give to my wife or kids, that is an amazing feeling. When I finally find that perfect gift to give, I just have to make a big deal of it and I just have to make sure it is a real surprise. Then when Christmas morning comes and you see the totally surprised look, there is nothing better than that.
Isn't it great to know we serve a God who still gets excited about us. He still loves to give us gifts. He still loves to surprise us. He doesn't just bless us, he surprises us. He loves to grant us special blessings when we least expect it. He loves piling on the blessings at our lowest moment. Our Loving Father in Heaven can't get enough of us. His Love endures forever! God's amazing love and grace is the best gift of all. He knows we don't deserve it but he grants it anyway and he delights in it. You just have to get excited to receive that gift!
Can you imagine the shock of Zechariah? Here's a guy who is at the pinnacle of his life. He has just, by chance, been drawn to perform special duties for God. He was concentrating fully on the task and was so nervous. I am sure he thought, Wow! "It doesn't get any better than this!" and then POW! It gets to the point of being unbelievable. He is no longer alone. And he is not just in the presence of another human, he is in the presence of a special messenger of God. To say he was startled and gripped with fear, is an understatement.
We serve an amazing God and I think this story tells us a lot about the character of the God of the universe. Would Zechariah have been any less excited had he found out Elizabeth was pregnant through the normal chain of events? Not at all. God did not NEED to tell the news in this manner. God was so excited about this great gift he was about to give. He just had to do it in a big way. Christmas is like that for me. As a parent, I no longer get the same excitement about receiving a Christmas present. But, when I find that special present to give to my wife or kids, that is an amazing feeling. When I finally find that perfect gift to give, I just have to make a big deal of it and I just have to make sure it is a real surprise. Then when Christmas morning comes and you see the totally surprised look, there is nothing better than that.
Isn't it great to know we serve a God who still gets excited about us. He still loves to give us gifts. He still loves to surprise us. He doesn't just bless us, he surprises us. He loves to grant us special blessings when we least expect it. He loves piling on the blessings at our lowest moment. Our Loving Father in Heaven can't get enough of us. His Love endures forever! God's amazing love and grace is the best gift of all. He knows we don't deserve it but he grants it anyway and he delights in it. You just have to get excited to receive that gift!
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