Don't be silenced...

Today in my devotion time with the Lord, I spent some time in the word reading Luke 1:1-25. This passage is about Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John The baptist. For those of you who aren't familiar with the story of these two and the news about the coming of John the baptist I will give you a quick recap.

So this man Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth are two pretty old people who love God. Elizabeth longed to have a child but was not able because she was barren. And then one day Zechariah was visited by the angel Gabriel and was told that his wife Elizabeth would have a son and his name would be John. In verse 18 Zechariah responded to the angel by saying "How shall I now this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years?" Pretty much saying to Gabriel look man, my wife is old how in the world do you expect her to have a baby, and because of Zechariah's disbelief in what God had just promised him, he was silenced. Zechariah was not able to speak until the birth of John the baptist.

I learned a few things from this story that I wanted to share with you! 

Let's start with Elizabeth. I am positive that Elizabeth felt a void from the lack of children she was unable to conceive. I know people who are in their 30's who have trouble conceiving a child and the devastation that it causes. How much more devastated Elizabeth must have been to be barren and on top of that now she is old. BUT even though, even though,  Elizabeth had given up on the prayer that she might have a child, she didn't give up on God. In verse 6 & 7 it tells us "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.."  We have to be like Elizabeth, we can't give up on God just because he hasn't given us what we've asked for, we have to love and serve him in our storm. 

Now on to  Zechariah. I want you to think about the most repetitious prayer that you have prayed in your life. You see there is no doubt that Zechariah had prayed and prayed for his wife to be blessed with a child, but at this stage in Elizabeth's life it would have been some sort of miracle for her to become pregnant. For Pete's sake she was old and I am sure they had tried every which way to have a baby, but it just never happened. It seemed impossible. But one day this beautiful angel show's up on the scene with a promise from God that their miracle was on it's way, but even then Zechariah was in disbelief. He questioned Gabriel he wanted to know how he could be sure, Gabriel's words just weren't enough. Because of Zechariah's disbelief he was silenced!!! 

Can you imagine?? You just had a face to face conversation with a magnificent angel and found out that your wife who you thought couldn't have children was going to have a son, and you can't even tell anyone. You are silenced. I don't know about you, but as a girl who loves to talk, I would have went bonkers!! Just think about all conversations Zechariah missed out on because of his disbelief. The bible tells in verse 20 "And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words..." Until his miracle was fulfilled he missed out. 

Don't be like Zechariah, don't be silenced. If God has promised something to you and you are in a season of waiting, I want to challenge you. Please don't miss out on the joy God has in store for you while you wait. I want to challenge you to wait with anxious expectation. Wait with the belief that the God you are petitioning is great and powerful and IS capable of giving you the miracle. Don't be silenced, just believe. 

My son was gone...

Today, Landon and I were invited to a birthday party for my very best friend's daughter, Natalie!  We were both excited to watch Natalie celebrate her birthday with her family and friends, and I was doubly excited because it meant I was able to spend the day outside with the most precious gift God ever blessed me with, my son Landon.  But, I never expected to experience what happened next.
When we first arrived I noticed how large the playground was and how many people were also enjoying this beautiful day. I was a little apprehensive letting Landon lose to play freely with his friends without hovering over him the whole time, but I know he is getting older and I needed to loosen the reins a bit.  I walked around the play ground to check it out and I was relieved that I  was only able to find one way to exit, so with that peace of mind,  I let him go and play. I even thought to myself, in that moment, I couldn't believe he was at the age now where I felt comfortable doing this. Every few minutes I would check on him and catch a glimpse of his little white head running around like the ninja he is, but then all of a sudden, I couldn't spot him.
It was a large playground so I initially didn't freak out and I started to walk through the play ground imaging his little head popping up and I would feel relieved...but I didn't. By this time the other adults had started to search for him also and I told myself  "It's ok Bethany don't freak out just call his name" but after three times circling the area and calling his name over and over again, I LOST IT! This just can't be happening, my son can't be gone. I couldn't breath; people were asking me what he was wearing and I seriously didn't think I could get the words out of my mouth and not throw up. Tears were streaming down my face and I could barely yell his little name. I felt faint. I don't know how many of you reading this are parents or if this has ever happened to you before, but I don't know that I've experienced anything more heart wrenching and devastating.  My baby boy was no where to be found, and I had no idea what happened to him. And just before I started to yelled to everyone on that playground to stay exactly where they were and not move, I heard "I think he his over here" For the next fifteen minutes I was in my own little world, I can't imagine loving anything more than I love that child and just the mere thought of him being gone from me was more than I could handle.  Out of all the horrible things that I imagined could have happened to Landon when I was searching for him it had to be that someone had taken him from me. You see, I know what makes Landon happy and I know what makes him sad. I know everything about him, I know that he has two moles behind each of his little knees, and I also know that Leonardo is his favorite Ninja Turtle. He is my child and there isn't anyone else that knows him better than me........except God.
That's when I was overwhelmed how God must feel when we step out from under God's care and love.  If I love Landon as much as I do and I am only human, can you even begin to imagine how much God loves YOU?  Psalm 139 13-14 says it all "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made..."  He made you, he knows exactly what you need and what you don't. He has plans for you and he had those plans long before you were born "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do"(Ephesians 2:10) He is YOUR creator, and He knows YOU!
Today, when I layed eyes on that precious boy,  I immediately started running towards him. I didn't care that he had gone to a place I told him not to and I didn't care that I had to call his name over and over again with no answer. I was just happy that my child was back in my arms where he belonged, and I know if I  feel this way about my child, I have no doubt it is how God feels about us.
God doesn't care where you are or where you have been. He doesn't care if he's been calling your name for the last twenty years with no response. He loves you more than you could ever imagine. His grace is never ending and his love is never failing, and He just wants you back in His arms where you belong!!!

If it's been a long time since you have heard just how much God loves you, I would like to encourage you to be my guest tomorrow morning at Revolution Church at the Central YMCA in Gastonia at 10:30


^{Romans 8:38-39
38} For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.