Remember

I read this from Luke 1:

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

^{5 “}In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. ⁷ But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

⁸ Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth”

I really appreciated a few things from that reading. 

-          Zechariah was serving.  It was time for him to be on duty, so he was working.  He was walking in obedience to God.

-          Zechariah was praying for the impossible.  In spite of his wife being barren, in spite of their age, he was asking God for a child.

-          His miracle comes in response to prayer.  The angel says “your prayer has been heard.”  God answers our prayers.  The impossible is possible. 

-          God’s angels are mighty & powerful.  The sight of just one angel strikes fear in Zechariah.  Yet, it reminds me of 1 Kings 6:

¹⁵ “When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” ¹⁶ He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” ¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

God’s timing is perfect.  His power is awesome.  His plan results in joy and gladness.

Those who are with us are more than those who are with them!