The Gift in the Struggle

 


“that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, may serve him without fear,”  Luke 1:74

To catch you up in case you haven’t been with me the last couple of days, Zechariah and Elizabeth were a righteous, elderly couple who had been unable to have children. As Zechariah was serving in the temple, he was visited by an angel who prophesied that he and his wife would become pregnant, and their child would proclaim the coming of the Messiah. Zechariah doubted these words, somewhat understandable after a lifetime of disappointment, and in punishment the angel declared that he would lose the ability to speak until the baby was born. For nearly a year Zechariah was unable to speak. The likelihood is high that his wife was unable to read and write, so they would only be able to communicate through signs and gestures. I can only wonder what that must have been like for him.

Surely it was very frustrating! To not be able to get your meaning and intention across clearly would bring most of us to a point of deep irritation. In many ways I’m sure it tested his faith. He knew that prophecies could be fulfilled quickly and literally, or they might be for some distant future time. The angel had told him that he would be unable to speak until the angel’s words were fulfilled. I bet he hoped very desperately for quick and literal fulfillment! How relieved he must have been when Elizabeth was clearly pregnant. This put a clock on the angel’s prophecy and there was hope on the horizon, but pregnancies take an awfully long time, especially when you have nothing to do but think.

And I bet he was a thinker. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wavered back and forth in what his first words would be. Perhaps at times he planned for them to be, “Would you stop that infernal humming, Woman!” But God helped him come to the place where, when it was time, he was ready with words of praise and prophecy. Despite being disciplined for such a long time, Zechariah was able to serve now without fear.

Here’s the Thing: Sometimes in life we go through difficult seasons. They may even feel like they will stretch on forever. But the truth is, as difficult as they are, they are a gift. God is using them to shape and grow us. He is preparing us for what is ahead. He is using us to teach and grow others as well potentially. We can trust that even in difficulty, God is good!

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