The waiting process is often painful, but always productive!

Luke 1:5-7,11-20, 23-25, 61-64 NLT
When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old….

While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”

…When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”

…“What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” So they used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him. He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.” Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.

Zechariah’s name in Hebrew means: The Lord remembers

Elizabeth’s name in Hebrew means: The Lord’s oath or promise

John’s name in Hebrew means: The Lord is gracious

Hang On, God Has Not Forgotten You

Psalm 94:18-19 NLT
I cried out, “I am slipping!” but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.

Keep Believing, God Will Fulfill His Promises

2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

Always Remember, God Is Gracious

Exodus 34:6-7 NLT
“Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.

God had been silent for 400 years! The last thing that he had said was in Malachi, in which he promised someone like Elijah who would be the forerunner of the Messiah!

This was a time of waiting and earnest yearning but no judges or prophets, no kings or military leaders were raised up, no books of the Bible written and no answered prayers for a Messiah. One would have to begin to wonder whether God heard or even if a Messiah would come at all.

We know what’s that like don’t we, waiting on God in so many situations: for employment, for a spouse, for retirement, or results on biopsies, MRIs, and catscans. Or maybe a diagnosis or prognosis, waiting a child to come back to God. And through it all, your waiting has turned into more and more anxious prayers. Waiting is painful work, perhaps the hardest work you’ll ever do.

Zechariah and Elizabeth had lived their whole lives without children. They wanted children, they prayed for children but they couldn’t conceive. In their culture that was a sign of God’s displeasure, although they loved and served God dearly, they faced quiet ridicule and open pity. They were in their 50’s & 60’s, they had gone through life disappointed both personally and spiritually, but they still remained faithful to God…

As the years rolled by, you’ve got to think that they had a growing sense that God had “passed them over” or even forgotten them. How long can a soul ache for something seemingly so right before it begins to lose its grip on hope?

Notice that even though his deepest pain and most sincere prayer had remained unanswered he still willingly and faithfully served God. It was his faithfulness prior to the answer that allowed the answer to the prayer to arrive. God often shows up in our faithfulness/serving.

He has an amazing spiritual experience, yet his faith had been so shaken by his everyday existence that he greatly doubted that God was really going to do anything. Zechariah was literally in the midst of serving God, and an angelic being shows up and announces that his prayers have been answered, yet he struggled believing. Sometimes our spiritual routine can deaden our sense and expectation of the miraculous.

He asks for a sign…even though an angel was standing right in front of him and God was speaking for the first time in 400 years.

Your doubts are no competition for God’s promise! Gabriele says, I really don’t care if you don’t believe, it’s gonna happen bud! And you aren’t going to be able to tell anybody about it…good luck explaining this to Elizabeth!

They had been praying for a child for decades, yet when the answer to his prayer was given it was just too much for him to believe. Listen, just because your prayer isn’t answered immediately doesn’t mean it’s not going to be answered! Do you think they were still praying, my guess is that they stopped years before, when they believed it was no longer possible. God loves to wait till it’s ‘impossible’ to do the impossible.

Zechariah can’t talk, and Elizabeth is staying in the house all the time, she is about to explode with excitement because God had finally given her a child, and removed the shame of being childless. I bet what she talked non-stop about was the son that she was going to have. All he could do was listen to her talk! God had given Zechariah one heck of a time-out!

God knows all you’ve done, He’s watched all your sin, He hears all your doubts, He absorbs all your anger, He receives all of your frustration, He’s hurt over all your disobedience…yet His response is to show us more grace…to look at us with open arms and say, “My child, come home, receive my forgiveness and enjoy my favor!”

Listen To The Entire Message Here