Speechless...

At the onset of my typing, I had not titled this yet because I was waiting for that to come. Yes, it is Christmas and I'm blogging while I wait for the children and grandson to arrive to "play" with his gifts, eat lunch, and enjoy a relaxing evening. The ham is in the oven, the bread is rising, and my husband is watching videos. It sounds like a bulldozer. A guy CAN dream.

I was thinking about the chapters I read in the Bible over the last few nights. Of course, I read the story of Jesus' birth in Luke. I read the beginning of Luke, the night before. That's the part that had me thinking. When the angel came to Zechariah as he served in the temple, Zechariah was reluctant to believe. In fact, Zechariah went so far as to question, "Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know that what you say is true? I am an old man, and my wife is old, too.” Luke 1:18. Now, I can definitely see where Zechariah had some hesitations and questions. He was old, Elizabeth was old. He needed some sort of justification, verification, and understanding. He wanted a sign. A great example of the fact that even the people who serve God can still need or search for understanding. However, I want to stop and say, at this point that through Gabriel, God took the words right out of his mouth. Literally! I could say so many things about Elizabeth's reaction to Zechariah not being able to speak, but I'll leave that alone.

You see, I'm sure that during our lives we have been led and in that leading, we have questioned, sought understanding, and even asked God for a sign to be sure we were understanding correctly. And, I do believe there have been a few times in my life that I had no words for what happened next when I questioned and did not believe and trust. Oh, I could literally speak, but figuratively, I had no words for the outcome. Sometimes, when God leads us in one direction, we become like Zechariah. We think of all the reasons why we can't possibly have or do what is being asked. We make excuses like we are too old. (That's me now!) But we can climb any mountain God sets before us if we believe He is faithful. We want signs that we are on the right path, doing what God wants, and in His will. (Again, that's me!)

James 1:6 says "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." I truly believe you can have questions, but you must believe. Believe that what He asks through us, will happen. If we doubt, then like Zechariah or the waves in the sea, we are speechless as to how God can use us. What He can accomplish, if we truly believe. I found my title, Speechless. You see, I would rather be speechless at his mercies and goodness, than speechless with disbelief.