The Lord is With You {Week 4}
A study of Luke 1 & 2
The Lord is with you and He is our Salvation
Zacharias has been silent for nine long months. He was a faithful man who doubted God. When Zacharias did not believe the angel of God’s prophesy that his wife, Elizabeth, would have a baby he was struck with the inability to speak until the prophesy was fulfilled. I imagine him sitting there silently as he watched his wife’s once barren belly begin to grow. I imagine all the things he wanted to say to Elizabeth as they awaited this special arrival but instead he had to remain silent. But in the silence, God was working.
Our text this week is Luke 1:56–80. I encourage you to read it and then read it again as you pray through Zachariah’s prophesy.
TRUTH #1: The hardships we face in this life should serve to point ourselves and others to Jesus — Luke 1:56–66
Our passage this week begins by telling us that Mary spent three months with Elizabeth and Zacharias. Mary was with Elizabeth during her final months of pregnancy. Oh the anticipation! When I was 6–9 months pregnant with my two kiddos I was constantly either nesting or resting. From the uncomfortableness came constant reminders of the excitement to come as my babies kicked and moved inside of me. I had struggled with infertility for several years but I cannot even imagine if it had been a lifetime as Elizabeth had experienced. Elizabeth had most likely fought against bitterness about her life situation and now that God had given her a child she remained faithful to sing His praises, as we saw in Luke 1:39–45.
We see in our passage that friends, relatives, and neighbors were rejoicing with this couple in their good news. They were also questioning what was going to happen with this child as they could tell he would be special. They were fearful and curious as to what was going to happen.
Mary made a really good choice of someone to stay with as she processed out the harrowing news of her own pregnancy. Last week we saw that life’s hardships pressed her to sing God’s praises when given space and this week we see that she stayed with Elizabeth after this for quite awhile.
Today, we see Zacharias’ reaction to being given the ability to speak once again. At the beginning of Luke chapter one, we learn in verse six that Zacharias and Elizabeth were both righteous in the sight of God and walked blamelessly in His commandments. In the middle of chapter one in verses 18–20 we find Zacharias choose to question and not believe what the angel said about his wife having a baby. Because of his doubting, Zacharias remained mute for nine months as he watched his wife’s belly grow. Then, he met his firstborn son and couldn’t say a word. He had to have just gazed upon his face, in awe of God. Zacharias could have chosen to become bitter and cynical about his muteness but instead the first words from his mouth after being mute for so long were words of praise of God.
Zacharias and Elizabeth faithfully used their difficult situation, and their blessings, to point others to Jesus. And so can we.
Bonus fact… the name “John” means God is Gracious. Friends and relatives assumed the new couple wanted a Zacharias Junior, which means “God has remembered,” but instead God chose the name John to name this child who would announce the coming of His graciousness.
Before you go…
Pointing to and looking to Jesus through our joys and trials is a choice. It is a choice to express words of gratitude instead of words of complaint. It is a choice to think on the gospel and Christ’s work for us instead of thinking on how others have wronged us or how frustrating our situation is. As humans, our default response will likely normally be that of complaint and frustration but we can instead choose to speak of God and His grace toward us.
Pointing to and looking to Jesus through our joys and trials is a choice
Truth #2: From our silence God’s praise should burst forth — Luke 1:64–79
God gave Zacharias a gift, the gift of quiet. While I’m quite sure this gift came with some hardships surrounding communication (I cannot even imagine how my husband would have handled not being able to do anything but LISTEN to me prattle on about my pregnancy excitement for nine months), this gift preempted the writing of some of the most powerful text in scripture, Zacharias’ words of praise to God, found in verses 68–79.
Let’s talk about quiet for just a moment. We live in a very loud world. At home alone it is still easy for things to be loud. I can invite dozens of people into my quiet living room just by opening up social media. We as humans often seek out this distraction from our quiet. It can be uncomfortable to have silence. But I challenge you today to embrace that uncomfortableness and to seek it out.
Christmas can be such a special time of year but there are so many busy distractions. I write this on a Monday and I’m pretty sure that, according to my calendar, the next break I have is next Monday. Join me in seeking out some quiet space. Pray that God will give you some quiet space this week. If you are a mom of littles like me, choose to set down your phone and sit with God first in the initial moments of naptime, trusting God to help you accomplish all your to-do list even if the kids wake up before naptime is over. Sometimes we have to get really creative to find quiet. I’ve been known to stop at a quiet spot while out shopping to have a few quiet minutes with God by myself in my car, on a walk, at a local quiet park, or at quiet spaces near the reservoir. It is my firm belief that God will redeem the productivity of the time we carve out to spend with Him, at church and in our quiet time alone with Him. I also believe God is faithful to help us find quiet time when we ask Him to help us in this area.
Consider reading Zacharias’ beautiful prophesy during a quiet time this week:
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant — as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old — salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us; to show mercy toward our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to Abraham our father, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; to give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Before you go…
Where can you seek out a quiet space today? How can you avoid distraction during that time with God? Be consistent to seek out quiet space with God again and again.
God will redeem the productivity of the time we carve out to spend with Him
TRUTH #3: We have a gift: Salvation by the Forgiveness of our sins — Luke 1:76–78
As I read through the beautiful words of Zacharias, a wonderful truth stood out to me, found in verses 77–78 of Luke chapter one:
“To give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God.”
Oh, the glorious beauty to understand forgiveness!
This was new. This is the new covenant. God forgives!
But, this begs the question, what is forgiveness? I’ve wrestled with this truth myself over the years. What does it really mean to forgive someone? What does it mean to be forgiven? How do I forgive someone? How do I live differently in light of having been forgiven?
Being forgiven does not mean that my sins were swept under the rug, out of sight and out of mind. The essence of the gospel is that my sin was laid bare and open to God and I came up vastly short. Up to this point, people had tried to follow the “law” laid out in the first books of scripture and it was an impossible task. Godly and well-meaning men and women tried and tried to keep the law and it was just humanly impossible. Galatians 3 tells us that the law became our tutor to lead us to Christ. Trying to please God only revealed more and more about our sin and provided a greater understanding of our need for forgiveness. Jesus came to provide salvation via a different way — through forgiveness of our sins.
The essence of the gospel is not that God said my sin wasn’t a big deal and swept it under the rug but that He acknowledged that my sin was a very big deal and went to the greatest of lengths to provide salvation — the death of His only Son.
So, this presents today two challenges…
First, do you see your sin as a big deal? Have you sought Jesus for salvation through the forgiveness of your sins? Deal with these questions if you have not.
And my last challenge… It’s time to forgive.
I imagine most of us have one or more individuals in our lives that we really struggle around. Gatherings at the holidays always seem to bring these things out. In no way am I implying you weren’t wronged, that you should place yourself back into abusive situations, or that trust is going to happen anytime soon between you and this person, but I would challenge you to forgive them. But what does it mean to forgive someone?
Jesus forgave us by dying — dying physically but also dying to His rights. He chooses not to hold our sins against our account. In 1 peter 3, Peter challenges us to not only forgive those who have wronged us but to give a blessing!
Forgiveness is so hard for me. It is something I have recently had to process more than ever before. It is a choice to not hold the offense done to me against this individual and to give a blessing instead. It is a choice to stop thinking about how I was wronged and to mentally bless. It is a choice to stop talking about what this person did to me and instead only process it in helpful situations, such as with a counselor or pastor. It is a choice to forgive.
Jesus forgave me. He forgave my absolute worst offenses. He forgave me of way more than He is asking me to forgive this person who wronged me. I am the servant who was owed a few dollars after the master forgave me of so much. I am the prodigal begging for forgiveness. I am the woman who anointed Christ’s feet and dried them with her tears. I have been forgiven, therefore I am called to forgive.
What better way to thank God for His forgiveness of me than to forgive someone made in His image?
