And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.
Luke 1:62-66
Zechariah came into alignment with the will of God for his son: to be named John. When he did, his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed. This miracle solicited a response from the people present that day. What response do we have when we see miracles in our life?
There is a plague in our society today that assigns extra meaning to ordinary things (conspiracy), and assigns natural meaning to supernatural things (naturalism). It’s far too easy to explain things away when God moves, and it’s tempting to insert our own meaning into every day events to find our own meaning. Chasing after conspiracy threatens to waste our time, distract us from what is real and good, and put fear of all sorts of things in our heart. Assigning speculative meaning to events births fear of the future, fear of death, and more.
When we rob God of the glory of his miracles by explaining them away as natural events, we rob ourselves of something important: the fear of God.
Upon witnessing the miracle of God, those around Zechariah began to fear. Fear what? Fear God. What did this fear of God cause? An understanding that God was up to something big.
All throughout Jewish history the words, “the hand of the Lord was with him,” indicates the active presence of the power of God.* Often, the phrase indicated that God was up to some redemptive work. Their fear of God caused them to understand that God was at work in John’s story, and that the story of God in his life could mean redemption.*
We typically understand the fear of God as something that would cause us to cower and distance ourselves from Him. True, biblical fear of God causes us to press into the purposes and presence of God, not pull away.
What miracle has God done in your life? Did you explain it away? What conspiracies are stealing your attention and causing fear in your life? Are you allowing the fear of God to open your eyes to His redemptive work in your world?
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to revisit His work in your life. Perhaps today God wants you to fear Him, drawing close to His presence and His purposes. Maybe today God wants you to realize that He is at work in your life. Perhaps God wants you to know that His hand is with you for some redemptive work.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!
*Bock, D. L. (1994). Luke (Lk 1:59–66). InterVarsity Press.
Garland, D. E. (2012). Luke (pp. 105–106). Zondervan.
Edwards, J. R. (2015). The Gospel according to Luke (D. A. Carson, Ed.; p. 60). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.
Liefeld, W. L., & Pao, D. W. (2007). Luke. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Luke–Acts (Revised Edition) (Vol. 10, p. 68). Zondervan.
Bock, D. L. (1996). Luke (p. 75). Zondervan Publishing House.
Bock, D. L. (1994). Luke: 1:1–9:50 (Vol. 1, pp. 169–170). Baker Academic.
Nolland, J. (1989). Luke 1:1–9:20 (Vol. 35A, p. 80). Word, Incorporated.