Advent – Day 11
“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 … ” – Luke 1: 11-14
Can you imagine long-suffering like this suddenly coming to fruition? As we saw in Day 10, Zechariah and Elizabeth were well along in years and childless. They had prayed for a baby. We know this because when the angel suddenly appears to Zechariah, he announces “your prayer has been heard.” (Luke 1:13) It is assumed that Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed this prayer many times in the past, likely for decades. And yet still they waited with hope and expectancy that the God of miracles would answer their prayers even when all natural reason made it appear impossible.
Some of you understand this ache, this desperate longing for a child with the heartbreaking realization that you’re getting along in years, and it may never happen. And yet you haven’t given up hope, because you know the God of miracles past is still the God of miracles today. Some of you have a different experience with hope and expectancy. Maybe you’ve waited for healing or homecoming, for resolution or resurrection. And you wait even when all natural reason indicates your answer may never come.
This was Zechariah … hopeful, anticipatory. But as we’ll see tomorrow, he was also doubtful. Doubtful that the prayer he’d prayed would finally be answered, doubtful that his persistent petition would come to fruition. Zechariah was human. And yet in all of his doubt and humanity, God ordained Zechariah to be the father of John the Baptist. In his sovereign foreknowledge, he chose Zechariah and Elizabeth to parent the one who was foretold of in Isaiah 40 and Malachi 3:1. God gave Zechariah and Elizabeth an answer to their long-awaited prayer that was so much more than they could have imagined. They’d prayed for a child, but God was sending them the promised messenger who would precede the messiah.
We don’t know for sure, because the Bible doesn’t tell us, but I believe there was purpose in their waiting. Because as Zechariah and Elizabeth prayed and petitioned, their faith was forged in the fire of waiting and expectancy. Just as God would prepare the way for his son, he had to prepare the way for Zechariah and Elizabeth in their role as parents of John the Baptist. This preparation couldn’t happen overnight. It required an act of patient, holy desire. As St. Augustine once wrote: “The entire life of a good Christian is in fact an exercise of holy desire. You do not yet see what you long for, but the very act of desiring prepares you, so that when he comes you may see and be utterly satisfied.”
Zechariah and Elizabeth waited for a child. The Israelites waited for Messiah, and you and I wait during this Advent season. We wait with the hope and expectancy of answered prayers and miraculous interventions, because we know God has done it before, and he can do it again.
Perhaps you’re waiting in heartbreaking long-suffering for something right now. Perhaps it seems as if the answer may never come. Perhaps you are doubtful that the promise will come to fruition. Do not despise your doubt; it is part of your humanity. But hold onto the promises of the Lord and his history of answered prayers and fulfilled prophecies even when it seemed impossible. Yahweh is faithful, and He may be using this season of waiting as an exercise of holy desire. This season may be preparing you to receive a gift that is so much more than you can fathom. That’s what happened in the temple with Zechariah. It’s what happened in Bethlehem. And it still happens today. Dear Lord, as we wait with hopeful expectation for the arrival of Christmas morning and the celebration of the birth of your son, ready our hearts to receive the good things you’ve prepared in advance for us. May we understand that this season of waiting is one in which our faith is forged in the fire of holy expectancy. As Zechariah and Elizabeth waited and prayed with hopeful anticipation and then beheld the answer to their prayers, let us wait and pray with the same expectancy. Because you have proven your faithfulness over and over, and we know you will prove it again.
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