Gospel

Questioning God?

by Roland Crim
01/16/17
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Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” Luke 1:11-20 NIV

Zechariah doubted what God had proclaimed to him through the angel Gabriel. There was repercussion to his doubting God’s word. He was not able to speak until what God had proclaimed did occur.

Just as with Zechariah, when we do not trust in what the Lord speaks to us, there are consequences. These consequences may be more subtle than what occurred with Zechariah, yet they still happen. Maybe our growth in the Lord is blocked or at least hampered. We might feel a falling away from the Lord, as if He has deserted us. Whenever we do something that we knowingly understand is not what God wants from us, we should expect some adversity to come to us.

So, what should we do when this happens? Should we wait and see the extent of the “damages”? I would care to say that doing so would not be a wise choice. We should immediately turn to the Lord and ask Him to forgive us and put us back on the narrow path that leads to our eternal inheritance. Christ is always there, waiting for us. He watches over all His sheep, and follows after us when we stray from the narrow path. You can always count on Him to be there waiting, just like the father waiting for the prodigal son.

Lord, thank you for caring and loving us so much. You will not let us stray without calling our name. Help us to humbly return to you and seek your forgiveness and pardon. Thank you for being our Savior and always loving us! AMEN!!