Pursuing His Will

“But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.’”

Luke 1:13, ESV

I love Christmas, and even though I’ve not always observed Advent, I’ve grown to really appreciate it. For the Christian, Advent is the season of expectation, in which we read Scripture passages like Luke 2:8-14 , sing songs like “O Come, O Come, Immanuel,” pray, and gather as a church community. This year as I think about the season of Advent, I’m asking myself, “Am I truly anticipating, reflecting, and preparing my heart for Jesus?”

I’d like to share a short story from my own life about this time of year. As I was growing up in the church, I would certainly go to church, read from the Upper Room booklet, follow along as the candles were lit, and sometimes even light the candles. I could tell you (then) if you were to ask me, “What’s Advent about?” I would probably respond like this, “Well, I know there are 3 purple candles, 1 pink candle, and when the white candle is lit, that means it’s Christmas!”

Not a great description, I know! But hey, I’ll quote Paul here in 1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child…” Not that this is an excuse for my poor description of Advent, but, it is what I would have said back then. As I’ve journeyed in my faith over the years, I have come to understand a much deeper meaning of Advent: embodying a true posture of expectancy, worship, and joy for the arrival of my KING!

To quote the rest of 1 Corinthians 13:11, Paul finishes the verse by saying, “When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” As this is true, today I write as a young man, still growing in the faith, but one who understands the importance of Advent. Below the picture I quoted Luke 1:13, and you may recall that certain sections of that chapter are specifically about the angelic announcement of the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah and Elizabeth (see Luke 1:5-25 for the full text).

I want to share a few points from Sunday’s message from our Teaching Pastor Aaron Hixon (Bay Area Community Church, 2023):

• The Lord chose to use angels to let the world know that the Savior, the Messiah, was arriving.
• The first announcement is to Zechariah.
• Though he doubted and was silenced, will you trust the voice of God?

I am so glad that we have the Word of God available to us so that we can reflect upon His truth! Will you do that during this Advent season? Reflect?

I’d like to invite you to reflect during Advent with me through a couple of ways:

• Read a Bible passage like Luke 2:8-14 , or Isaiah 9:6-7.
• Pray, thanking God for His plan to send His Son.
• Worship, like the angels did in Luke 2.