Be Still And Know

Luke 1:19-20 The angel said to Zechariah, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.” I’m sure that Zechariah would have seen this as the biggest moment in his life. He was having the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of presenting the incense offering in the temple. And there he was confronted with an angel who informed him that his elderly wife would soon give birth to a son. It would have been a startling moment for anyone but for a very old man, who had long since given up any thought of his wife having a baby, it was overwhelming. I don’t find it surprising that he asked the angel how he could be sure that this would happen. But the angel saw his refusal to believe his words as a sign of disobedience; as a result, he was mute until the time of John the Baptist’s birth. Because