HOW CAN I BE SURE OF THIS?

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

Oh the doubters.  The questioners.  The I-will-not-believe-it-until-I-see-it crowd.

We question everything.  We doubt most.  We don’t give the benefit of ‘the doubt’ to others – meaning we typically think the worst.

We question God.  We make excuses.  We hear but do not respond, let alone act.  We think He is not talking to us, or the words are to hard, the command too difficult or involves too much of me.

In studying this passage of Scripture (Luke 1), I have come to realize I am a doubter.  When I was healed in October 2024 from my 5-year feet injury, I questioned God on whether what He told me was true.  He said very directly and specifically I was healed.  Twice.

The first time I basically ignored it, and the second time I told Him to prove it.  Not my finest hour, for sure.

And our gracious heavenly Father did not smite me on the spot, did not slap my hand, did not do anything to punish me, but rather, actually proved to me that I was indeed healed, and by His Word, and His Word alone.  By Him.

Back in Luke 1, we find the priest (not high priest, but a priest nonetheless) Zechariah serving in the Temple at the altar of incense.  He believed enough to be in service, we know he had been praying because the angel Gabriel makes reference to it (Luke 1:13) so he had enough belief to pray to God.

So when God moves, he doubted.

Boy, I can relate.

And it’s not necessarily about the good thing, but rather, the wait has been so long, is it true that the wait is over and my prayer is heard?  We doubt we are good enough to receive the blessing, the answer, that which we have longed for, for such a long time.

And in response to Zechariah’s doubt, he was silenced.  He could not shout from the roof tops his wife was no longer barren.  He could not run down the streets of Jerusalem, as well as his home town with this incredible news. 

He could have written down his thoughts, but, as far as I know, there is no record of his writings.  He was silenced for 10 months.  And it was not  until he wrote:

“His name is John.”  (Luke 1:63)

That he was able to speak.  The angel told him he would be struck dumb for the duration of the pregnancy, and he was.  It was not until after the baby (John the Baptist) was circumcised in accordance of the Law on his eighth day – that Zechariah regained his voice.

And:

His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied.  (Luke 1:67)

The angel told Zechariah that his son would be filled with the Spirit in Luke 1:15 and Elizabeth was filled with the Spirit (Luke 1:41).

But it was not until Zechariah completed his time of muteness and wrote down the baby’s name as John, and, as he began to praise God – then he was filled.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were operating under the Old Testament system and ushering in the New with the birth of the forerunner as well as the long-awaited Messiah (which is told about further on in Luke 1).  And with that, Jesus promised He would leave us (those who believe Him as Christ the Lord) the Holy Spirit (John 14:16).

So, where does this leave us?  In a place where we should think twice before responding to God with a “no”, a doubt-laden question, or even when we ignore Him.  Instead, we can work to having instant obedience and instant praise – believe and obey.

Because when we doubt we are silenced, but when we believe God uses that as a platform for His glory as we testify to His goodness in our lives.

Let us believe and not doubt.  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess.  Let us stay in the yoke with Jesus and walk in Him.

PRAYER

Father God, I want to believe, trust, hope and walk in that consistently. Please forgive me for when I have doubted, questioned and operated in unbelief. Increase my faith. Grow me to be more like You.

Interested in hearing more about this subject?  I just did a lecture on this while teaching in Luke 1.