Responding To God's Promises

In one of my Sunday morning messages I was speaking on the joy of the Lord. I shared something I had not seen before concerning the interaction the archangel, Gabriel, had with Zechariah; the father of John the Baptist; and Mary, mother of Jesus. It is found in Luke 1 and gives the account of Gabriel foretelling the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus.

As Gabriel speaks to Zechariah, he tells him that his wife Elizabeth would give him a son, he was to name him John and he would be great in the eyes of the Lord. (verses 13-15) Zechariah’s reply was, “How can I be sure this will happen? I am an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” Gabriel’s response was to rebuke Zechariah for his unbelief and cause him to not be able to speak until the child was born. (verses19-20)

After Elizabeth is six months pregnant Gabriel is sent to Mary to let her know that she will conceive and give birth to a son whom she will name Jesus. Mary’s response was, “How will you do this? I am a virgin.” Gabriel explains what will happen to cause this to come to pass and Mary’s response was, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”

Zechariah and Mary both had encounters with the archangel Gabriel. They were both told that a son would be born to them. After the angel speaks to them, Zechariah is rebuked and struck with no voice until John is born. Mary suffers no ill effects and feels blessed. What was the difference?

When Zechariah responded, “How can I be sure this will happen?”, he was saying, “How can you prove to me and assure me that what you are saying is true?” Mary’s response was different in that she asked, “How will you do this?” Zechariah spoke of himself and wanted the angel to offer iron-clad proof that his wife would bear a son. Only then would he believe. On the other hand, Mary simply said, “how will you do this?” Zechariah had his eyes on himself and need something his five senses could use to verify that Gabriel spoke the truth. Mary had her eyes on the Lord. With an attitude of humble obedience, she tells Gabriel, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”

The account of Gabriel speaking to Zechariah and Mary reveals to us the way God wants us to respond to Him when He gives us a promise. His promises come to us in various ways. Through reading the Bible, through a sermon, a song, a prophecy, a dream or through His still, small voice. Zechariah gave a wrong response when he became introspective and demanded some kind of proof and assurance that what God said would surely come to pass. Mary gave a right response when she didn’t waver in her faith but in a humble and simple way asked, “how will you do this?” She didn’t question that it was too hard for God. She didn’t demand proof that it would surely happen. She unselfishly spoke in faith saying, “I am your servant, may all that you’ve said come true.”

To walk in the blessing of fulfilled promises from God, we must be those who choose not to question what He says nor make demands that He proves He will perform it. We should respond with childlike faith, believing that what God promises will surely come to pass.

It’s interesting that over 30 years later John the Baptist asks the question, “Are you (Jesus) the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” Like his father, Zechariah, John is asking for proof and assurance that Jesus really is who He says He is. This is an example of how we can make soulish transfers into our children, good or bad. Simply trusting and believing what God says to us will surely come to pass not only affects us. It also affects future generations.