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Luke 1:18-25
18 Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."
19 The angel answered, "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.
20 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 proper time."
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple.
22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home.
24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.
25 "The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."
Elizabeth was said to be barren 36), and Zechariah was well advanced in years. But it was God's pleasure to change the order of things overnight.
It is amazing when we see the generations of barren women in Genesis; Sarah (Genesis 18:12), Rebekah (Genesis 25:12) and Rachel (Genesis 29:31). What comes alive after these three generations is literally an explosion of tribes and nations. (Like the Cambrian Explosions if you know it, otherwise never mind).
God picks up the weak ones and uses them for his mighty purposes in amazing ways to show the world his true strength. It amazes me that God delights in doing things which are 'not normal' in the ordinary settings. It is a delight for God to do extra ordinary things through ordinary people. Seeing that, David cries; "Is it your normal way of dealing with man, O Sovereign Lord?" (2 Samuel 7:19). What is 'normal' for God is a mighty miracle for us.
Later, we see Mary paid a visit to Elizabeth and they both recognizes the mighty miracles God had done in them 51). And they have got excited about God. They were not talking about preparations for child birth or recipes for a healthy porridge. But they were talking about greater things, like falling of dynasties, redemption of their nation and freedom for those in dungeons. Their minds have awakened to the possibilities of the power of God.
Let us prepare our minds for the great things God is going to do with us.
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