Just Seek God
Author: Pat Aman
(Luke 1:13NIV) says, “The angel said unto him, Fear not, Zechariah for thy prayer is heard…..”
For a long time Elizabeth and Zechariah had prayed for a child to bring them joy. Finally their prayers were answered, in miraculous ways. But as years passed, they never experienced a son’s wedding, a grandchild’s birth, or old age softened by a son’s love. Instead, they watched their son endure public shame and execution.
I wonder if they ever felt baffled, even embittered, by the way their prayers were answered?
Maybe that’s why God’s messenger to Zechariah said what he did: “Don’t be afraid. This is the answer to your prayers.” In years to come, when Zechariah and Elizabeth feared for their son, they were need to remember in their hearts this word from God. John the Baptist would indeed bring joy to his parents, to us all, by announcing the Messiah. Their prayers would be answered, but God’s answer would be different from what they expected, and ultimately better.
This last year we have walked together through a pandemic, but we have hopefully learned to walk together with Jesus, praying that He teach us what discipleship is about.
We have discovered it means turning over to Him our whole life, our fears, our weaknesses, our abilities, our will, our relationships, and our what-ifs.
And as we have walked with Jesus in a closer relationship we have realized He sometimes handled situations different from what we expect, we may have felt baffled, doubtful, afraid.
But in those times we remembered the word of a loving Father God to Zechariah: “Don’t be afraid. This is My answer to your prayers.
I do not know about you, but Joe and I when going through changes in our lives may feel overwhelmed until we realized we needed to go back to Father God’s table of comfort. We realized that we needed to constantly seek and depend totally on Father God. Our faith is in Him, the great and mighty God, the creator of the universe.
If you are having to make decisions in your life, remember Father God is always on time, in His time.
Just as the prayer of Zacharias and Elizabeth holds encouragement and hope for those who have prayed in secret.
And remember, it was not dependent on them holding on; they had already given up.
It was not about some sin in their life hindering their prayers; they had none.
Proverbs 13:12 says; “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” Yes, they were heartsick for a time. But what does the end of the verse say? “But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”
What a great ending for their great prayer!
But, “desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”
Devotion Written By: Pastor Pat Aman Book © 1996/2021 “Coffee With Pat Daily Devotionals” “Coffee With A Little Spice Of Life” and Westbow Press a division of
© Thomas Nelson and Library of Congress Control Number: 2018910976……….
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