Afraid to Hope Again

On this day, Zechariah had been chosen to offer incense in the Holy Place during the daily worship service, a rare privilege for which the priests were chosen by lot. And that is when, as Zechariah stood in the Holy Place, an angel appeared beside the altar. Zechariah was terrified.

Gabriel said:
Do not fear. Your prayer has been heard.
Elizabeth will have a son. You will name him John.

Then Gabriel told him what the child would become. He would be great before the Lord. He would turn many of Israel’s children back to God. He would prepare people for the Lord.

God had given Zechariah the answer to his prayer.  But he still asked:
“How shall I know this?” (Luke 1:18)

Zechariah heard God’s answer and could not quite believe it.
Gabriel told Zechariah that he would be unable to speak until the promise was fulfilled, because he had not believed the angel’s words.
And sure enough, he was unable to speak.

Zechariah asked for certainty, and God gave him something he could not possibly ignore.
Every morning he woke up unable to speak.
As Elizabeth’s belly grew, every month that passed, he was reminded.
And then John was born.

Zechariah remained unable to speak until the child’s circumcision and naming on the eighth day. When relatives expected the child to be named after his father, Zechariah took a tablet and wrote:
“His name is John.”

Immediately Zechariah’s mouth was opened.

Zechariah prayed for a son. But God gave Zechariah the one who would prepare the way for the Messiah. Zechariah had been waiting. But Israel had been waiting even longer.

Generations had passed since God’s promise to David, and many more centuries since His covenant with Abraham.

God’s long-promised plan was moving toward fulfillment.
And now an angel brought these words to Zechariah:
“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard.”

Perhaps you know what it is to pray for something so long that you stop expecting anything to change. At first, you prayed boldly. Then carefully. Eventually you learned not to hope too much. Not because you stopped believing in God. You simply became afraid of being disappointed again.

By the time God’s answer came, Zechariah struggled to believe it.
God was faithful while Zechariah was waiting. God was faithful while Zechariah questioned it.
God was faithful through the fulfillment of His promise.

Our doubt does not make God less faithful.
Not every prayer is answered the way we have hoped, but God’s faithfulness is not measured by whether we receive the answer we wanted.
When waiting has made hope difficult, we do not have to manufacture stronger faith. We can rest in the faithfulness of the One who hears us.

FEAR NOT when you are afraid to hope again.
BECAUSE GOD IS faithful even when your faith falters.