Thursday, November 14, 2019 by Lara Cook
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. Luke 1:13-15a
It is no secret that waiting is not something we do well, especially in today’s world with everything you could want literally right at your fingertips. Waiting on God to work in our lives is the hardest kind of waiting there is, but our God is not on our timetable. He has His own perfect timing to accomplish His perfect agenda.
Do Not Be Afraid to Receive God’s Answer to Prayer - But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. This is the word that Zacharias received from an angel, telling him that his wife, Elizabeth, would finally have a baby. His wife was the cousin of Jesus' mother, Mary. They had tried and prayed for years but they had been unable to conceive, and they were much older now. Over and over again their prayers were unanswered, or so it seemed.
Their prayers were not unanswered, they were just delayed for a bit. God had a plan and His plan was for Elizabeth and Zacharias’ baby, John the Baptist, was to be born just before Jesus Christ. God had a special purpose for him in a specific time in history as he would become the forerunner for Jesus who would be born 6 months later. He was God’s appointed messenger telling people to repent of their sins and get ready, the Messiah was coming. God’s timing was not too late for Elizabeth and Zacharias’ past, and possibly forgotten, prayers. It was perfect for His purpose for John the Baptist in the beautifully planned and orchestrated course of events that were all a part of His salvation plan for mankind.
If you are in a season of waiting, or you feel like a season has long passed you up and you aren’t even praying about it anymore, just remember that God’s timing is perfect. It is so difficult because we cannot see the end of our story, we can only see the very next step in front of us. God is never late or behind. He is patiently preparing us for everything that is ahead. Getting impatient when we don’t have an answer can lead to making wrong choices. If we don’t have a clear answer on something, then we should wait for a word from Him, which He will give in His time. In the meantime, if we make the choice to wait, it doesn’t mean we are stagnating or doing nothing, it means we are choosing obedience. Waiting is a commitment to trust God and wait in obedience until He speaks.
Draw close to Him and seek His purpose for this time. Is He preparing you for something? Ask Him to show you as you open your heart and mind to Him in obedience. An unanswered prayer or an unclear direction may just be a delay or a divine intervention to position you to experience His best and to play your part in His divine plan. Every delay, detour, and disappointment, as painful and frustrating as they are, are still a part of His plan and they serve a purpose.
