“Zechariah asked the angel, ‘How can I be sure of this?’” Luke 1:18 NIV
Have you ever talked to someone who said, “If I witnessed a miracle or had a direct word from God, I would believe”? It doesn’t work that way. Zechariah had an angel appear before him and speak a direct revelation from God, and yet he did not believe. Doubt is not a problem of evidence, but of the sinfulness of the human heart. Even those who are righteous struggle with the sinful nature. You may wonder, “How does Zechariah’s question differ from Mary’s question (Luke 1:34)?” When the angel told her that she would become pregnant with Jesus, she asked, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel did not confront her for doubting. Zechariah asked the angel for a sign and was rebuked for his doubting. Why these differences? John Calvin (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], 1:23) points out that the difference was not in the words spoken, but in the attitude of the heart of each person. He acknowledges that while God is free to punish one person and pardon another, as He sees fit, that is not the explanation here. Rather, God, who sees the hidden secrets of each person’s heart, knew that Zechariah’s doubt was different from Abraham, Gideon or Mary’s doubt. Zechariah was placing human limitations on God. He and Elizabeth were too old to have children. He should have acknowledged, as Gabriel said to Mary, “Nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). Our sinful hearts make us all prone to limiting God. God has given us abundant evidence in Scripture that He is the God of the impossible. The source of our doubt is not a lack of evidence but rather our sinful hearts.
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord, we surrender our hearts to You, and our doubts.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord, we confess that our sinful hearts make us all prone to placing human limits on You. You have given us abundant evidence in Scripture that You are the God of the impossible. The source of our doubt is not a lack of evidence but rather our sinful hearts. AMEN
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)
Zephaniah 3:14-20
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