Zechariah displayed a classic case of doubt when he first heard he was going to be a father. It makes sense from a human perspective. I mean, what are the odds? Both he and his wife were long past child bearing years, yet this was a man of God, a priest no less. Still, he was human. His doubt of the words from the Angel caused him an unusual punishment. He would be unable to speak until his child was born. I’m sure there were times Zechariah wished he hadn’t spoken those infamous words. “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” (Luke 1:18)
I admit I am a chatter! A lively conversation (not with any hostility—in “hostile mode” I tend to go silent!) that is interesting, engaging, filled with pleasant and even disagreeing opinions, along with a hot cup of coffee or cool glass of tea is a wonderful way to spend several hours. Conversation is a relationship builder!
Sometimes children choose to say more than they should, when annoyed with a parent or even another sibling. They have to learn there are times to share their feelings, and times when it is totally inappropriate.
Other times we are just misunderstood due to dialect or expressions unique to a given area. In Wisconsin, a water fountain is known as a “bubbler.” Some areas of the mid-west call a “hair-tie” a “hair-binder." In Tennessee words like “clean / plumb” can mean completely; and “right smart” can mean a large amount; and the word “buggy” is used instead of shopping cart!
It is suggested it only takes five to seven spoken words to identify a person’s honesty, intelligence, and other important characteristics; perhaps even our level of faith. However, the dialect we use need not necessarily define us. A dialect does not deem the person inferior in any way; it simply makes his language usage different. Yet a person’s idiom’s can imply ignorance, laziness or other stereotype, which is far from the truth.
However, there are times in our lives when we all say things we wish we hadn’t; but once spoken, cannot be taken back. These are words spoken in anger, when we are hurt and sometimes even excited or surprised, perhaps like Zechariah!
Often, without conscious effort we vocalize the questions in our minds, even if only to ourselves. We may lament our circumstance of whether we will get the “cold that’s going around,” lose a job, have a bad day, run into someone we’d rather not see and all sorts of negative things that play in our mind. Our minds react to what our ears hear even more than when we just “think” the thoughts.
When we think to the point of vocalizing negative thoughts, our fears can override our faith. We predict negatively and our “prediction” turns into what happens. We’ve opened the door so Satan can make our “doubts” come true.
If Zechariah had not doubted, perhaps he would not have had his speech taken. If we choose to rebuke doubt and think more positively, perhaps some of the negative things that could/do happen, won’t. Instead of allowing fear to trump faith, we need to replace our fear with godly confidence. When we place our Christian assurance in front of our uncertainty, we open the door so God can make good things happen.
I encourage you to reflect on your “self-talk.” Do you express personal doubts that feed the seeds of fear? Do the words that come from your mouth demonstrate your faith in Christ or do your ears hear doubt in the Savior’s ability to work in your life?
No comments:
Post a Comment