(Audio)
And suddenly there will come to the temple
the LORD whom you seek,
And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.
Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
But who will endure the day of his coming?
Zechariah did encounter a messenger of the covenant in the temple. He wasn't ready to endure his coming without being refined. Yet that refinement was revelatory. It was nothing overly terrible or worthy of fear.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name,"
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Being refined often means to see the shortcomings of our own words, the stories which we tell ourselves about ourselves and about what is possible. We learn to exchange our noise for listening and our words for God's words. When we allow ourselves to be refined and let the LORD does his work on our hearts we experience new levels of freedom.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
The LORD wants to free our tongues to proclaim the truth of his power and the certainty of his promises. This is something beyond tacitly acknowledging such lofty concepts. It is speaking his promises into the very circumstances of our lives where they seem the least likely to be true.
Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:
come to save us, Lord our God!
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