What Are You Waiting For?

So first of all my “simple life resolution” has been going really well.  I spent the first day of the year in church and with my family…it doesn’t get any better than that!  And tonight my parents and grandparents game over to eat dinner with us.  We enjoyed a good meal and just spending time talking with one another.  So nothing spectacular in the eyes of the ‘world’, but spiritually speaking I feel such a sense of assurance and peace through the simple things that have become the big things in my life.  Oh, and I haven’t told them yet, but I am planning on interviewing my grandparents on a regularly basis in order to record their life growing up and together---I am looking forward to what I am going to learn through this experience.

 Luke 1:1-25

So here we go, a brand new book to start off a new year.  Interestingly enough we read the Christmas story from Luke this year ( I talked about it in an earlier blog) and my son wanted to know exactly why  Zacharias was unable to speak up until John was circumcised and I could not remember exactly how that happened.  I told him that I would see if I could find it, but like many things I forgot.  You see, when we read the Christmas story we started with verse 26 of Luke 1.  The answer to my son’s question was right there in front of us and we missed it, or should I say I missed it (I was the one doing the reading).  Then as I was reading it tonight, I couldn’t help but smile and thank God for not only reminding me of my son’s question, but leading me directly to the answer even when I didn’t know I was looking.  Isn’t that just God though?  Doesn’t he lead us where we need to go even when we don’t realize we are on the wrong path?   And many times the answers to our questions are sometimes right there in front of us, but we are just too busy to see it.  As I was reading about Zacharias and Elizabeth the verse from Matthew Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (19:26) kept coming to my mind.  Just like Zacharias, many times I doubt what God can do through me.  We know that Zacharias was extremely faithful to God and I am sure that he believed God could do anything except when it came to him.  I don’t know about you, but I do this all the time.  I hear other people’s stories, I believe for other people that God is going to do a mighty work in their life and then it gets to me and I wonder if I am useable.  I have to stop doing that!  And if you do the same, than you have to stop doing that too!  If we have given our heart and life to God then we are useable and he will use us!  Zacharias doubted and was unable to speak for almost a year, but I bet he never doubted God again after that.  So what will it take for us to believe that God truly has great plans for us?  Do you believe?  Are you ready to be used by God?  What are you waiting for?