“Zechariah asked the angel, ‘How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.’” Luke 1:18 NIV
Every thinking person has struggled with the problem of doubt. C.S. Lewis, who was an atheist before he was converted to Christianity, acknowledged that just as the Christian has his moments of doubt, so does the atheist. He wrote, “Believe in God, and you will have to face hours when it seems obvious that this material world is the only reality; disbelieve in Him, and you must face hours when this material world seems to shout at you that it is not all.” (Cited in “Focal Point,” July-September 1989.) All of us who believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour have been there, too. We believe, but we get our eyes off the Lord and onto the trial that looms before us. If we let a trial consume our vision, it will block the glorious power of the Almighty God. Zechariah was there that day in the temple when Gabriel, the angel who stands in God’s very presence, appeared to him and promised to give Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, a son. He should have been ecstatic at this news. For years this devout couple had prayed, “Lord, if it would be Your will, give us a son.” But that had been years ago. Now it was too late. They were both long past the age of conceiving a child. Zechariah had reconciled himself to reality – they were not going to have a son. He had come to terms with this fact and now, he was not willing to open himself to the roller coaster of hopes and fears that he had long left behind. So he doubted the word of the angel.
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord, we have allowed our trials to cause us to doubt You.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
All of us who believe in You as our Lord and Saviour have at one time or another taken our eyes off You and focused instead on the trial that loomed before us. We confess our doubt and the fact that we lost sight of Your glorious power. AMEN
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)
Isaiah 35:1-10
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