Daily Devotional For Sunday, December 17, 2023

Our Christmas word for today is BELIEVE. It is through belief in Jesus that Christmas becomes more than just shopping and sentiment. I’d like to look back at the first Christmas, at two people who each heard a message from an angel. One chose not to believe, and the other decided to believe. We learn a lot about belief from the contrast between Zechariah and Mary.

Zechariah didn’t believe.

The father of John the Baptist was told by an angel that his wife Elizabeth would have a child in her old age. His first response was to ask for more proof, and so the angel Gabriel said in Luke 1:20, “But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time” (NLT). Zechariah was a priest in God’s temple, one who should have been a prime example of trust in God. Now, he must endure months of it being obvious to all that God has stopped his speech. It is almost certain that he lost his ability to serve as a priest in the temple because of this handicap.

Mary did believe.

When Mary heard that she would give birth to Jesus as a virgin, she chose to believe. Mary and Zechariah were both confused by the message they received, yet Mary decided to trust God. Her beautiful expression of this trust in God was in Luke 1:38. “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true” (NLT). She soon went to see her aunt Elizabeth, the same one who was Zechariah’s wife, and an amazing moment happened.

A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so h in Luke 1:39-45, “A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town (40) where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. (41) At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. (42) Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. (43) Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? (44) When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. (45) You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”(NLT).

Get the picture of what is happening in this household. Elizabeth is still pregnant with John, so Zechariah is still unable to speak. As she sees Mary, Elizabeth perceives that she has chosen to believe what the angel told her and says, “You believed that the Lord would do what he said.” Under the same roof is Zechariah, who had chosen not to believe God would do what he said.

Right after she hears this from Elizabeth, Mary sings a song of praise: The Magnificat. It’s one of the greatest expressions of praise in all of the Bible. Zechariah was not able to sing, because he had chosen to not believe. Think of the questions that must have been going through his mind. Would he ever be able to speak again, to believe and praise God again?

The story of Zechariah is not over. When John is born and Zechariah’s voice is loosed, one of the first things he does is sing his own song of praise. His struggles to believe led him to a place of faith. Just because you’ve struggled to believe doesn’t mean that you’ll never believe. In fact, it’s most often through struggles that we come to the place of trusting God. It’s never too late to believe and to experience the blessings of belief. 

Do you need to believe? Maybe you’ve celebrated Christmas year after year, but never taken the step to believe that Jesus died to give you forgiveness and was resurrected to give you eternal life. I realize that an angel has likely not appeared to you to give you a message to believe. The truth is, God has given us something even greater than the few sentences they heard. All that is in the Bible is his message to lead us to believe. John says at the end of all that he wrote about Jesus, look at John 20:31, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (NIV).

Let’s believe right now.

Scripture to Meditate On: John 20:31, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (NIV).

Prayer to Pray: “Father, I believe in Jesus. I believe that he was born into this world because you love me. I believe that he died on the cross to pay the price from my sins. I believe that he was resurrected to offer me a new life in you. I accept the gift of your love, forgiveness, and life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen."