It is easy to be cynical in regards to the promises of God when one is in waiting. One may doubt that God even speaks, let alone speaks a promise that is to be delivered when things are not going well. The Lord wants to encourage you that His promises are solid, but His promises are only birthed and received in His presence.
In Luke Chapter one, we see Zechariah and Elizabeth. They are faithful to God, yet fruitless in the womb. Things were not looking favorably for them in hopes of having child due to their old age. However, God would see His children in their faithfulness, and bless them.
“In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 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, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.”
Luke 1: 5-7
God was about to bless Zechariah and Elizabeth in a divine manner. The Lord was about to reveal the plan of the preparation of the soil for Jesus to minister on. This soil would be prepared by Zechariah and Elizabeth’s son. The people had longed for the Messiah to come, now He would be coming. But on top of that, their son (John the Baptist) would be used to prepare the way of the Messiah. Talk about being barren to becoming bountiful! God is faithful.
Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 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, which will be fulfilled in their time.”
Luke 1: 8-20
Zechariah may have been chosen by lot, but, this was God showing Himself sovereign in the life of His child, Zechariah. Just as God was sovereign in Zechariah’s life, so He is too in yours. He knew that Zechariah would be walking into His presence, and that He would have an opportunity to speak to him.While the people were praying and Zechariah was seeking, The Lord revealed Himself through one of His angels.
Prayer
Notice that prayer preceded the presence. Prayer is the magnet which attracts God’s heart to ours. That’s what He says “draw near to me and I will draw near to you”(James 4:8). It is only when Heaven invades earth that we truly get a glimpse of the abundant life we were called to have, and the intimacy with the faithful Father He desires to have with His children. Don’t cease in praying. Go after His heart and His presence, and trust that He is faithful to show up. He actually wants to spend time with you.
Presence
While being visited from the messenger of Heaven, Zechariah received a promise from the Lord. The promise was received while in the midst of God’s presence. It is impossible to decipher the words of God without His presence being pursued and acknowledged (Maybe that’s why the Bible is only a moral code for some?). Don’t believe that? Read every single passage regarding the Pharisees and Sadducees. They rejected Jesus in His deity and killed Him when accusations of Him being the son of God surfaced. Therefore, they didn’t receive His presence nor seek after Him with a pure heart.
Gabriel declared to Zechariah that he was standing in the presence of God delivering this promise of a child for he and his wife, Elizabeth. The presence of God is pure, holy, perfect, healing, and fertile for person of God to be revealed. The presence is the very grounds of His promises, because His promises reveal His character and nature. They reveal God Himself! Look to the Old Testament. The best part about the promise land was not the land, although the land was indeed a blessing and a guaranteed promise. The best part of the promise land was that God would be there! Moses declared (Exodus 33:15)”Lord, do not let us enter if you will not be there!” What good are promises if they are void of His presence? That would completely go against the Father’s heart. Perhaps what you are looking for in promises is actually poison. Therefore, I encourage you to test all “promises” with His word!
Zechariah was standing in the presence of the Holy God. In His presence, anything could happen. It was in the presence that the angel delivered the prophetic word of Zechariah’s son John, and the ministry and power he would walk in. It was also in the presence of God that the angel declared that he had “good news” to deliver.
Perhaps it is the lack of the pursuit of His presence that is blocking you from intimacy from God, and obtaining the promises He desires for you. God’s presence is perfect and the very thing we seek in prayer (see the Lord’s Prayer). I want to encourage you to request His presence and to pursue Him. It is in His presence that His promises are delivered, deciphered, and demonstrated. Thank you Father, for your presence.
Promise
One last thing I’m led to share with you is that this passage shows us that God makes promises and keeps them. God saw their emptiness in the womb, and in love and sovereignty He chose to use His faithful servants for the plan and preparation of His Son to enter the world. Zechariah while in His presence, received a promise, and doubted.
Do not forsake the truth you know in your heart. While the promise may not be manifest in your life at the moment, God is still faithful in the moment. He is a good Father who does not go against His word. What He promises will come to pass. Do not doubt.
What God says must come to pass. It was because Zechariah doubted that He was muted, but the promise was not muted. Do not mistake God’s silence for His rejection. God disciplines those He loves.
I want to see you walking in your promise. The promises that God has made available to you in His word. Believe and walk. Do not underestimate the significance of God’s heart for you to enjoy and be blessed in His promises.
This passage shows just how faithful God is. He was promising a forerunner for the Messiah. He was promising a child for two people who were barren. He was showing Himself in the midst of His Temple and his son’s life. He was preparing the way for Jesus to come.
Be ready for the goodness of God to pour into your life. Seek Him in prayer. Pursue His presence, and hold fast to His promises. He is a Good Father, He will show up.
Nate Staton 