Faith or Doubt
Luke 1:5-56 is the Biblical account of the angel Gabriel appearing to Zacharias and proclaiming to him the promise of a son in his old age, then appearing to Mary and proclaiming to her the promise that she will bear the Christ child, the Son of God. Take a minute and read this passage, so we can look at it more closely together.
There are many similarities between Zacharias and Mary. As we see above, Zacharias and Mary both received a visitation from the angel giving them a word of prophecy. The scripture says they were both “troubled” when the angel spoke to them. Even in those days it was not very often that an angel spoke to a man or a woman. The angel told them both “Do not be afraid.”
It is clear that both Zacharias and Mary were godly people. Luke 1:6 New American Standard version says of Zacharias and Elizabeth “they were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.” And in Luke 1:28 NASB, the angel greets Mary saying, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you!” which shows us that Mary knew God, for He was with her.
However, after the angel gave the word of prophecy to each of them, Zacharias and Mary had different responses to what God promised them. As we look at these responses, we can see how God wants us to react in faith to Him when He speaks to us. And although not many of us will have a visitation from an angel in our lifetime, God does speak to us through His promises in the Bible, and through the Holy Spirit.
In Luke 1:18 after the angel is done telling Zacharias the amazing miracle that God will perform for he and his wife Elizabeth of granting them their prayer for a child in their old age, Zacharias responds to the angel in doubt instead of faith. Zacharias says, “HOW shall I KNOW this for certain? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” “How” G2596 at its root “denotes opposition” and “Know” G1097 means to “know absolutely or be sure.” In other words, Zacharias’ question is not a question of the mechanics of how this will happen, instead his is a question of WHETHER this will happen. And in Luke 1:20 the angel says to Zacharias that he will be unable to speak, because he did not believe.
Another man found himself in a similar situation, yet he believed. Abraham was told that he and his wife Sarah, who were VERY old, were going to have a child. Romans 4:19-20 NASB says of Abraham:
And without becoming weak in faith, he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb: yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waiver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform.
Whereas, Abraham contemplated his own physical limitations and did not waiver in faith, Zacharias contemplated his own physical limitations and doubted.
Where Zacharias doubted, Mary responded in FAITH to her own miracle of God. Don’t you think it would be harder to believe that you would bear a child by the Holy Spirit, than that you would bear a child in old age? Yet, when the angel was done telling Mary about the miracle of Christ’s birth, Mary responded by saying, “HOW can this be, since I am a virgin?” In Mary’s case, “How” G4459 is a different word and means, “how, in what way, after what manner” so it is more about the mechanics of how this will take place and is not asked in doubt but instead in FAITH. Further, in Luke 1:43 NASB (italics mine), Elizabeth says of Mary,
And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.
We also can respond by BELIEVING the promises that God has spoken to us in His Word, if we follow Mary’s example of believing. Are there any areas of your life where you can move from DOUBT in His promises to you, to FAITH in His promises to you? Do you trust that He can and will do what He promised? Let’s check our hearts today and see where we can
MOVE FROM DOUBT IN GOD’S PROMISES TO FAITH IN GOD’S PROMISES.
In His Love,
Suzanne
Mom Morsels 