Luke 1:59-66
And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God. And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea. And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.

Here is a moment of redemption, perhaps, for Zacharias. He had doubted at first and spent those nine months of Elisabeth’s pregnancy in silence. He had witnessed the miracle of his wife giving birth to a son well past when that should have been possible. And so here is the final test, as it were. Had the words of Gabriel been ringing in his ears all those months? And now there was only one thing left to say—to call this baby John, as God had ordained. To prove he finally believed what God had revealed to him. To understand that God gave this baby for a purpose, and that purpose would surely be fulfilled.

Now Zacharias could know, and prophesy, that, more than just an aged, barren couple having a baby, the greater purpose foretold to him would surely come to pass. John would be the forerunner to Christ, that voice in the wilderness to proclaim the coming Messiah, the preparer of the path to make way for Israel to open their hearts and minds to the Lamb of God.

What a glorious moment can come when we get to that place of fully believing God. There is nothing left but to stand in awe of Him and all that He can do. There is nothing left but to be humbled by His greatness, His grace, and His willingness to use us to accomplish His great work. What amazing things we can be a part of when we’re willing to let go of our thoughts and our ways and to exercise our faith in God fully and completely.

Our own doubts can turn to faith. Our own unbelief can turn to full and explicit trust in God and all that He can do. And this faith can look beyond our own small lives here and now to the greater purposes that God has. This faith exercised in our own circumstances can help others to see God, can point the way to Christ, can proclaim the truths of God and His faithfulness. And what an outcome that is when light can shine into this dark world and God is glorified and magnified to those around us.