Whilst reading the story of Gabriel appearing to Zechariah in the temple in Luke 1 and then listening to Charlotte Mason’s poem written on this account I was struck by a number of things that I had not noticed before and yet they so deeply resonated with my Mommy heart.
Firstly Charlotte Mason brings to our attention that here was a priest bringing into the temple the prayers of the whole nation to offer and burn before Yahweh and yet he had not seen his own deep heart cry to the Lord answered as yet. However, he still faithfully walked in what God had asked him to walk in. As a women, wife and mother this challenged me to the core as how often do I choose to opt out of something that will bless others – simply because I have not seen fruit in that area of my life? How often am I tempted to “just call it a day” for the whole family if I am having a bad day. Or cancel a promised coffee date or outing with a child because “I don’t have the capacity.” I am not speaking here about burn out or having overloaded our plates and needing to step back into an open space. I am rather talking about when I feel just not up to something simply because it seems fruitless or as if I will not gain anything from it. Had Zechariah chosen to pass on this opportunity to step into offering up the prayers of the whole nation – talk about something big to accomplish in one day – because he didn’t see the point of it, as his prayer for a child had not been answered, he would never have received the blessing in the way he did. Let us be reminded to day of Proverbs 11:25. “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes. others will be refreshed.” (NIV)
Secondly I was struck by how in Luke 1: 14-17 Gabriel gave Zechariah a clear description of what path John’s life would take….
“He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord…….. and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (NIV)
Reading this brought me so much comfort knowing that if God foreknew the life of John, surely he foreknows the life of each of my children and has their days planned and in the palm of his hand. This comfort however was short lived with the plaguing thoughts of “what of the children born into hardship and poverty? What outlook does their life have? They had no say in their birth circumstances, if they are to grow to lead a life of sorrow and crime how would God let them be born if he was predestining them to a forsaken life?” These thoughts swirled and began to erode the joy at seeing how God had John ‘s life predestined and therefore would surely have all our lives, including those of my children, predestined too.
Then as a bolt of light the truth coursed across all these darkened thoughts…I recalled another thing the angel said, “He is never to take wine or other fermented drink.” For me this was not about the drink but the fact that this was an instruction straight from God to Zechariah and Elizabeth on how John should be raised – in a way that was highly counter-culture. Drinking wine was part of the Passover, a part of the Jewish life and culture. In order for John to become all Yahweh saw for him to grow into he had to have parents that were willing to not only follow the word of God on how to train up their child in the way of the Lord, but to also have parents that were willing to listen to and heed the Lord when he asked that they, as a family, did something different. By following the blue print God gave them for raising this child in a way that was different even to their Godly neighbors, it would ensure that their son would all he had created to be. Realising this once again brought me comfort for I realised that God does indeed have a plan and vision mapped out for every human’s life, it is however up to us, the big people, to humble ourselves in prayer, ask for forgiveness and follow the ways of the Lord and in so doing so every child, no matter their birth circumstances, would be able to live their lives to the full, achieving all they were created to do and be as they would be grown in the ways of the Lord.
My challenge from today’s unexpected lesson was two fold, firstly as I able to stand up and do all God is asking me to do, even when in the flesh I feel discouraged and unseen by God myself? Can he still use me in my broken, unfulfilled state or is it only when I’m prospering and see all my prayers answered am I of use to God? Secondly do I trust God with my children’s plans and futures and am I not only attentive enough to hear what he’s asking me to train and grow each child in individually but am I brave enough to stand up and claim that different paths he asks me to embark upon no matter how counter culture they may look.
