Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
LUKE 1:8-17 | 8 Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. 10 Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. 11 Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. 13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the
Holy Spirit. 16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Zechariah had a moment when life was too good to be true. As a priest, the highlight of his life was to lead the worship of Israel in the temple in Jerusalem two times a year. Then it gets better—he
encounters a divine messenger, the angel Gabriel bringing a
message directly from God. Wow! But then it gets better again, for he is told that his deepest sorrow, being childless, is over—his wife will bear a son. Then it gets better still! The boy will be not only a miraculous blessing for his parents but a key figure in God’s
purpose for Israel: the Elijah-like forerunner to the Messianic Age! (see the 2nd last verse of Malachi, 4:5)
Has your life ever been too good to be true?
