I hate waiting at a traffic light (maybe that's why God put me in Haiti where we have NO traffic lights! haha!)... I can't imagine waiting my whole life time for something and never to receive it!
But even though it must have seemed like FOREVER for God's people- waiting was a necessary part of the salvation story. God waited until the timing was perfect to send His perfect Son.
Today, as we read the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, we are reminded that in our time of waiting... God remembers! (Zechariah's name literally means "God remembers"!)
Zechariah and Elizabeth desperately wanted children, but she was unable to conceive. One day, as Zehariah was working in the temple, an angel appeared to Him and said, "God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord..." (Luke 1)
ALL THAT TIME of waiting (they were both very old)... but God remembered. He heard their prayers and not only were they going to have a son, but that son would be John the Baptist... the one who would prepare the way for Jesus to come!
"... he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and power... He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord!"
The miraculous birth of John the Baptist came just before the miraculous birth of Jesus. And the beauty of the Christmas story is that the miracle of Jesus birth is for every one of us! We can ALL receive the miraculous gift of Jesus!!! God remembers our need, and He fills that need with His Son!
The greatest gift we could receive for Christmas, or EVER, is Jesus. May we not forget that this Christmas!
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