Elizabeth's Faith
During the past month, I have been thinking about the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth and how the Lord made him mute and deaf due to doubt and unbelief at the time that Gabriel told him that Elizabeth would become pregnant.
As I sit and read this story, I am almost taken back at his sudden doubt and lack of faith of what the Lord was going to do, considering Zechariah was known as a high priest and was responsible for bringing the confessions of sins to the temple-the holiest places- the place where Zechariah was literally in the presence of God. And yet...even having the encounter with the Lord's presence, he still doubted. He was quick to doubt.
And then, there's Elizabeth.
If you continue to read the full story in Luke 1, you will observe that Elizabeth had immense faith and did not question in doubt when Gabriel approached her to tell her that she would become pregnant. Instead of doubting, she thanked the Lord and went to retreat for five months to protect her pregnancy and to praise and worship the Lord. Her faith was unwavering, completely steadfast and her humbleness before the Lord is something that I am realizing that I significantly lack more times than I should. Looking at Elizabeth's reaction and her response to the Lord, I have realized that my faith, more times than not, is very much like Zechariah's.
You see, just like Zechariah-he loved the Lord so much and lived his life praising God and worshipping Him. As a matter of fact in Luke 1:6, the Lord says "And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord..." and when God saw Zechariah, even in the midst of his doubt, God still saw righteousness.
And here's the thing that I'm learning about who I am in Christ. Ready? This goes for you too... even though I doubt the things that the Lord has for me, when I doubt His goodness and His plans for my life, Jesus still sees me as righteous because God is righteous and therefore I am righteous because He lives in me.
But the flip side of that truth is that I allow my flesh and the lies to get in the way of believing who I am in Jesus. I don't always live in righteousness. I don't always choose holiness the way that I should, because lets be real, more times than not, my flesh overtakes me and I intentionally (and even unintentionally) choose sin. How many of you can relate? It's as Paul shares in Romans 7 "So now it is no longer I who does it, but sin that dwells within me." There are days where I constantly choose doubt and I walk away from my identity in Christ in those moments. I sometimes struggle with doubting what the Lord has for me and what He does in my life because many times, I have believed the lie that I am unworthy and not worth having freedom or deliverance. But then there are times where I believe in His power and I get a *taste* of that freedom, but then it all comes back at a driving force and it takes me back to square one in my doubt and fear of God. And it's not the holy kind of fear either. Its a fear that tells me the Lord is disappointed in me because of the choices that I made...and I know that I am not alone in that thinking process, right? It makes me wonder if Zechariah dealt with the same thing. Did Zechariah struggle with doubting God's love for him too?
But here's the truth friends, none of that is true. Not a single one of those lies are true. Because it is just that-A LIE. Jesus is not disappointed in me or any of us. It doesn't matter if we were to do the same sin over and over again, He would still love us to His fullest. The Lord has revealed to me many times that He would die on that cross all over again, even if it meant that I was the only person left in this world. And He would do it for you too.
My friends, the main point that I want to make clear is that the lies that the enemy speaks or whispers in your ear, is not how the Lord sees you. Those lies that you have been believing about yourself, the walls that you have built around the labels of "unworthiness, hatred, guilt, shame, anger, sadness...Jesus wants to tear them down. He wants to tear those walls down so quickly and embrace you in His loving arms.
In Jeremiah 29:11, the Lord says "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." and we must not doubt His goodness or His love. His plans for us are good. And if His plans for me are good, then I must believe that He is for me and not against me. Once we do that friends, once we allow the Lord to have complete control and reign in our lives, freedom and deliverance will abound.
"For the Lord corrects those He loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights." (Proverbs 3:12) Sometimes, the Lord has to discipline us, just like how He disciplined Zechariah by making him mute and deaf for nine months. If you read the story, you will see that the very first thing that Zechariah said after months of being silent, was complete praise and prophecy of the Lord! Sometimes, Jesus asks us to walk through the hard seasons of life being completely silent and just listening to HIS VOICE only. Because at the end of the storms that we face, at the end of every single trial, there is a beautiful abundance of grace and freedom waiting for us. Freedom is for us. Grace is for us. Mercy and love is for us because Jesus is for us.
So from now on, I will remain peacefully silent as I depend on the Lord. From now on, I will choose to only open my mouth to praise, prophesy His goodness, encourage others around me and worship Jesus as my Lord and Savior. And I can only pray and hope that you can do the same.
I am praying for a faith like Elizabeth-completely unwavering and fully focused on the Lord.
Many blessings,
Mal
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