Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” (Luke 1:18-20)

It took me a while to realize why God disciplined Zechariah by taking away his speech for many months. When an angel told him that he would bear a son and name him John, Zechariah doubted. He wanted proof that God would do it, while God wanted him to believe based on his faith. Then I realized that Zechariah was doubting that God had the power to deliver on the promise of a baby to an infertile couple. 

I wonder how Zechariah, a priest, could doubt what an angel told him?  Then I remember that I have God’s Living Word --the Bible -- which is full of promises that God has made. Yet I, like Zechariah, often question God’s choices or path for my life. I often disobey and go my own way, doing the opposite of what God instructed me to do.

Disobedience is a joy-quencher. Like Zechariah, I know that from experience. Once Zechariah disobeyed, I’m sure he mourned and regretted what he had done. I wonder if later this silence offered him an invitation to something more than mourning and regretting; maybe God used this time to speak into Zechariah’s heart and grow his faith. I think this change is evident in the naming ceremony of his son, where things turned around. Even when neighbors or family members were insisting that Zechariah and Elizabeth name their baby after his father, Zechariah wrote on his tablet, “His name is John.” It all happened exactly as the angel had said.

God most likely used that time of silence to deepen Zechariah’s faith, so when the time came to obey, he would do so without question.  In this act of obedience, everything changed. His mourning changed to joy. Luke says that “Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God” (Luke 1:64).  When he surrendered and obeyed, joy inevitably followed.

Sometimes, we think doing things our own way will make us happier than doing it God’s way, but often we find our joy quenched like Zechariah. But if we follow his later example of obedience, we will not only find joy but will see God do amazing things through us.

Thinking about Zachariah’s story encourages us to pause and reflect. Are you struggling with joy?  Maybe God is asking you to be silent before Him and allow Him to speak to you and deepen your faith. Is there an area of your life where you need to surrender and obey God? Our disobedience is a joy-quencher, but walking in obedience brings freedom and joy.