Day 3 of Advent - Tuesday, December 4

Day 3 of Advent - Tuesday, December 4

Luke 1:76-79 - Anticipation

  “And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go to prepare His ways.” (Luke 1:76)

  Zechariah can now speak once again and is praising God and giving prophecies about his new born son, John, who will be known as The Baptizer. For so long he looked forward to the birth of his son and now a different anticipation begins. He knew that God would be using John as the one to prepare the way for the Messiah, bringing people back to God. He also knew that it would involve a lot of lonely times where folks would think him crazy and even times where he may be harmed physically for his message. No father would want a life like that for his son, but Zechariah knew that John would be serving a major role in God’s work and he was willing to accept that.

  A friend of mine recently sent her daughter off to serve in the mission fields of Africa. Even though the girl is in her early twenties, and her parents know that God will be with her and with her work, it was not an easy decision. For months before she left, there were prayer requests constantly being put on Facebook and sent through emails for this young lady who felt God’s call so strongly that she had no choice but to follow. And now, she is in this foreign country, sending pictures and blogging about her work. All of her family and friends anxiously await each communication to see what God is doing through her to the peoples of Africa. The anticipation we feel has changed from 90% worry and 10% excitement to 90% excitement and 10% worry. Just like Zechariah and John, her parents raised her in God’s way and knew they could let her go into His service and she would be ready. Just like John.

Spend some quiet time with God today.