Obedience or Unbelief

By Reverend Michael Farias

There are times in our lives when the Lord will speak to us, visit us, or nudge us in order to get our attention to direct us for a specific task or purpose. When this happens, it should be the beginning of an exciting adventure, but the future will be affected by our response.

In Luke Chapter 1, we see two people who were selected by God to be participants in his great plan.  Though they were both chosen and visited, they had very different responses to the news.

First, we’ll look at an old man of God who was knowledgeable in the word and the ways of God. His wife was barren, unable to have children.  The man’s name was Zechariah.  He was a priest, and one day during his routine duties in the temple, he got a visitation.   

And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.  And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.  But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.  And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.  Luke 1:11-14.

This would have been great news for Zechariah.  An angel appears to tell him that his prayers have been answered, and that joy and gladness are in his near future. He’s going to have a son and the boy will be amazing.

But instead of believing and rejoicing, the old man replies with a question, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” Luke 1:18.

It just didn’t make sense to him.  He wanted to know how.  How could this be?  The details are in Luke, but it’s appropriate to say that the next nine months weren't exactly pleasant for the old man.

In contrast, let’s take a look at another reply to a visitation from the same angel. It’s the Christmas story; the angel Gabriel appears to a single young woman named Mary,  to announce that God has chosen her and she has found favor with God.  

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.   He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.   And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Luke 1:31-33.

Another amazing child will be born, another miraculous visitation occurs, but again the question arises, “how?”  

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”  Luke 1:34.

Fair enough.  When God calls us to do something or to be a participant in his plan that seems impossible, our first instinct is likely to question it.  Let’s be real here. Fear, doubt and unbelief can be crippling.  We can become speechless like Zechariah or we can become vocal like Mary.  Even though an impulse kicked in for Mary that initially caused her to question, she quickly reversed her position.   

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant  of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38.

The response God is looking for from us is not, “how can this be,” but “let it be.”

Whatever God is calling you to, whatever he has put on your plate, whatever he is asking you to participate in, the response should always be “let it be Lord, according to your word.”  Don’t lose sight of the what, simply because you are focused on the how.

Luke 1:45, Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Bonus Points:

Zechariah was afflicted as a result of his response. He could not speak until 8 days after the child was born. There was a debate about what to call the newborn boy, and Zechariah was handed a tablet so he could write down what the boy’s name would be.  He wrote, “His name is John.”   That’s right.  He remembered his encounter with Gabriel.  Luke 1:13  “you shall call his name John.” As soon as he wrote the name John on the tablet, something happened.  

Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. Luke 1:64.

Mary, on the other hand, was not silent.  She proclaimed what she believed, quoted scripture, and praised the Lord (see Luke 1:47-55).