Better Late Than Never

For the next four weeks or so we have a guest blogger! I'm going to take some time off, and Brad Kibler from the Faith Builders Class will write our devotions. Here is his first installment.

In the first chapter of Luke, we see a detailed record of the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist. Luke, the doctor and historian, decided to include this profile, but the other gospel writers don't have nearly the detail we get here. We're told Zechariah was a priest, and that he and Elizabeth were "upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly." (1:6) They wanted children (1:13), but that blessing hadn't been granted to them, yet, and they were both "well along in years" (1:7).

Do you ever get 'blessing envy'? Does it seem like God isn't granting your heart's desire, but that it seems like almost everyone else you know is getting blessed in that way whether they are followers of Christ or not? Like Zechariah and Elizabeth, I wanted kids, my wife wanted kids, but yet for 5 years, that wasn't to be. No angel came to surprise me to tell me the good news of our first child, and we didn't have to wait as long Zechariah and Elizabeth, but I had a glimpse of their frustration. When you hear about people being upset about having an unplanned preganancy, and a pregnancy is what you want for your family, it can cause some strong emotions.

God may or may not grant our hopes in this world, he is sovereign and knows what's best for us in the long term. If we're not careful we can let our desires build up to become a blockade of resentment that hinders our relationship with Him. How would you react if God answered a prayer you've been praying for year after year? Thanksgiving? Awe? Joy? Praise? Well Zechariah's first reaction was that he didn't believe it, and he questioned God's messenger (1:18-20), and so God made him mute for (at least) a few months. It makes me wonder how often God has wanted to give me a 'yes' answer to a prayer, but that my heart wasn't ready for that 'yes' answer! Take a moment to reflect on your heart's desires. Are your feelings for those potential blessings getting in the way of your feelings for your Lord and Creator?

If you haven't read the rest of Zechariah and Elizabeth's story already, you can read Luke 1 online at: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%201&version=31, or you can of course always use your own Bible.