Luke 1:18-20
Zachariah said to the angel, “Do you expect me to believe this? I’m an old man and my wife is an old woman.”
But the angel said, “I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won’t believe me, you’ll be unable to say a word until the day of your son’s birth. Every word I’ve spoken to you will come true on time—God’s time.”
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Several years ago, I stopped getting e-mail messages from my cousin. I knew that he sent out a lot of e-mail… you know - those forwards (jokes, interesting stories, cartoons, etc.). I realized that I was no longer receiving them – but, I also was not receiving personal messages from him. While these were more infrequent than the “canned” messages, it dawned on me one day that I was not getting anything from this dear cousin.
I started doing a little digging and discovered that somehow, my cousin’s e-mail address had gotten on my “block sender” list. I was inadvertently blocking his messages. While the “canned” transactions were not all that critical, the personal messages and information I failed to receive during this time were significant. I immediately removed my cousin’s address from the “block sender” file and restored our connection!
So often, we block the connection to God. We fail to believe in His promises… or to trust His timing. And in essence, we block our blessings and answers from God. I heard a pastor say recently that sometimes God has to sort of “rattle our cage” a bit in order to get our attention. Just as He rendered Zechariah unable to speak until after his baby was born, God may allow us to go through a few things in order to teach us about faith and obedience. I sometimes look at situations in my own life and wonder, “If I had trusted God for this sooner, might I have avoided so much stress and heartache?” I look at some of the sleepless nights I have had… times when my stomach was in knots over a certain situation. I almost have to shake my head at I realize how ridiculous – and incredulous – my lack of faith was.
Over and over, we create roadblocks to success and blessings…we produce an atmosphere in which God refuses to work. We leave Him with no choice but to teach us a lesson… to squelch our voices, like Zechariah... to allow us to wallow in our own misery and disbelief.
Haven’t you had enough of this? Isn’t it time we grow up as Christians and act like the children of God we are called to be? Are you ready to walk in faith and stop blocking God’s efforts in your lives… and the lives of those you are impacting on His behalf? When will we truly “let go and let God”? Isn’t today the perfect time to begin?
©2012 Debbie Robus
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