One of my favorite movies growing up was Lilo and Stitch. In the beginning of the film, Lilo had waited and asked for a friend because she was feeling lonely. Lilo had no parents and she didn’t get along with the girls in class, but soon enough, Stitch came into her life. Stitch wasn’t a typical friend or a friend who even tied into social norms, but he was a friend to Lilo nonetheless. Just like Lilo, Zechariah had waited and longed for a son, and God granted this, not according to Zechariah’s timing, but to His own sovereign timing and by God’s grace, Zechariah did not only have a son, but a son who was predestined to fulfill God’s purpose.

Last Sunday, Kurt Uy preached about when and how God breaks His silence and he used the story of Zechariah learning about his expected son by an angel’s visit. One part of the preaching that really stood out was that God answers our prayers in His timing, not our own and that He is not bound by our deadlines and expectations. But this doesn’t mean that God won’t be there altogether, but that His plans are so much greater than what we have in mind, just like for Zechariah. Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth eventually had John the Baptist, and although He didn’t tie into society and culture at the time, he did fulfill God’s sovereign purpose as to pave the way for the Messiah. Although this was very good news, Zechariah reacted to it negatively and doubted himself, but when God chose Him, God did so with zero doubts. God breaks His silence not just to cater to we want, but in order to fulfill His purpose in our lives and He does so for these reasons:

• To answer our prayers (Luke 1:11-13)
• To give us joy (Luke 1:14-17)
• To inspire faith (Luke 1:18-20)
• To show His favor (Luke 1:21-25)

Zechariah was a common preacher with a common service, but he had God’s uncommon favor. God’s word and His favor is something that sometimes we don’t understand at first, and sometimes we react to it negatively, just like Zechariah did. But ultimately, we should trust God and have faith in His plans for us, even if we don’t understand it. But what we know for certain is that God only has the best in store for us.