Title When My Shame Becomes Hope
Contents
Cultivate with the Word: Luke 1:5-25
5) In the days of Herod king of Judea, there was a priest in the line of Abijah, whose name was Zacharias.
His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6) These two were righteous before God, walking without blemish in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
7) Because Elizabeth was barren, they were childless, and they were both old.
8) At last, Zacharias was performing the priestly duties before God in the order of his class.
9) According to the custom of the priests, lots are cast to enter the sanctuary of the Lord, and to burn incense.
10) All the people prayed outside at the time of incense.
11) An angel of the Lord appeared to him and stood at the right hand side of the altar of incense.
12) When Zacharias saw it, she was amazed and afraid.
13) The angel spoke to him, saying, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.
14) You too will rejoice and rejoice, and many will rejoice over him.
15) For she has become great before the Lord, and does not drink wine or soju, but has been filled with the Holy Spirit from her mother's womb
16) I will bring many of the children of Israel back to the Lord, their God.
17) And he went before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, and gave the heart of a father to his children,
I will turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and I will prepare a people prepared for you
18) And Zacharias said to the angel, "How shall I know this? I am old, and my wife is old."
19) The angel answered and said, I am Gabriel, who stands before God;
I have been sent to tell you
20) Behold, you will be dumb and unable to speak until the day these things come to pass, for you will not understand my words.
Because you do not believe, but in due time my words will be fulfilled.
21) And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled at the delay in his sanctuary.
22) When he came out, he could not speak to them, and the people thought that they had seen a vision in the sanctuary.
He expressed his meaning with adjectives and just remained mute.
23) When the day of his ministry was over, he went home.
24) After this, his wife Elizabeth conceived and hid for five months, saying,
25) It is said that this is what I do so that men may not be put to shame on the day the Lord visits me.
Ⅰ. We also have things of shame and despair.
Shame and shame in the families of Zacharias and Elizabeth was childlessness. It was seen as a punishment from God. The times I had to go through because I had no children were embarrassing and difficult trials. But they were beautiful people before God. They feared God and lived by faith. They were also those who tried to walk without blemish in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. Still, into old age, they had a secret sorrow and shame. As the Zacharias entered their old age, childbirth became even more desperate, and their hopes gradually disappeared. To them, being old means that they have no prospect of having children, and that they can't expect any more.
We also have this secret shame and fading hope. Like the desperate situation of Zacharias and Elizabeth, there are reasons and explanations that make us desperate.
“Because it is”, “Because it has already been decided and turned out to be”, “If you look at it,” “If it should have happened, it would have already happened” “It’s hard now, and if that happens, it’s a miracle…” with a sigh of despair. It's just as desperate as the doctor said, "Let's do surgery after being diagnosed with cancer." Like shattered pieces of glass, it seems impossible. You can be in a desperate situation where you feel that things you once hoped for are no longer what you expect.
Ⅱ. There is something we must not let go of in shame and despair.
In this shameful and desperate situation, there was something that Zacharias did not let go of. “Your supplication has been granted.” As Zacharias alone, in his heart, even in despair, he did not let go of 'Prayer'. It was an impossible situation, but he wanted to quit because he had been fighting so hard, bearing burdens. “Your supplication has been heard.” God has been listening to Zacharias from the time he prayed for a son to this day.
When Zacharias had the opportunity to enter the temple by lot to burn incense when she was cast as priest, a terrifying and surprising thing happened. The angel Gabriel appeared to the right of the altar of incense and said, “God has heard your prayers. Now the time has come for that prayer to be fulfilled.” Zacharias couldn't believe it. “How can I believe this?” “I am old and my wife is old.” I prayed, but I did not know that it would come true. I didn't expect that much anymore, but I was getting old and giving up, but as a sign of God's rebuke for Zacharias' unbelief and God's response to God's promise to give me a son, Zacharias became mute until the birth of his son John.
Prayer is the channel of God's power to change our shame and despair. The life he had prayed for in hope was rewarded for his previous life in despair and gave him greater and more valuable blessings than other women. God will surely reward and repay us who prayed for the Lord, all the sorrows that were heartbreaking in the past and all the lives that still hurt our hearts.
Who do you do that to? Like Zacharias, in despair, looking only at the Lord, He rewards those who still pray for answers. Elizabeth, who experienced God's reward, testifies, "This is what you do so that people may not be put to shame on the day you see me." God uses the fragments of my life that are broken and seemingly irretrievable and beautify them again. It will be like a broken mirror, and hope has completely disappeared. Like the wall of the Tehran Royal Palace, God rewards my life more beautifully like a royal palace. So we must never let go of prayer. God is hearing my prayers now.