Don't Abort Your Promise

Most people have something that they have prayed about and are believing God for it to come to pass. I recently read the story of Zacharias. He and his wife Elizabeth were older and had John the Baptist. Zacharias was muted and couldn't talk throughout his wife's pregnancy. He was able to speak again after John was born.

"5 In the days of Herod [the Great], king of Judea, there was a certain priest whose name was [c]Zacharias, of [d]the division of Abijah. His wife was [e]a descendant of Aaron [the first high priest of Israel], and her name was Elizabeth. 6 They both were righteous (approved) in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. 7 But they were childless, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both far advanced in years.

8 Now it happened while Zacharias was serving as priest before God in the appointed order of his priestly division, 9 as was the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter [the sanctuary of] the temple of the Lord and [f]burn incense [on the altar of incense]. 10 And all the congregation was praying outside [in the court of the temple] at the hour of the incense offering. 11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 When Zacharias saw the angel, he was troubled and overcome with fear. 13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, because your petition [in prayer] was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him [g]John. 14 You will have great joy and delight, and many will rejoice over his birth, 15 for he will be great and distinguished in the sight of the Lord; and will never drink wine or liquor, and he will be filled with and empowered to act by the Holy Spirit while still in his mother's womb.

16 He will turn many of the sons of Israel back [from sin] to [love and serve] the Lord their God. 17 It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous [which is to seek and submit to the will of God]—in order to make ready a people [perfectly] prepared [spiritually and morally] for the Lord."

18 And Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I be certain of this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in age." 19 The angel replied and said to him, "I am Gabriel; I stand and minister in the [very] presence of God, and I have been sent [by Him] to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 [h]Listen carefully, you will be continually silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe what I told you; but my words will be fulfilled at their proper time."

"57 Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown His great mercy toward her, and they were rejoicing with her.

59 It happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child [as required by the Law], and they intended to name him Zacharias, after his father; 60 but his mother answered, "No indeed; instead he will be called John." 61 And they said to her, "None of your relatives is called by that name." 62 Then they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote as follows, "His name is John." And they were all astonished. 64 At once Zacharias' mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking, praising and blessing and thanking God."

As we read throughout this story, Zacharias is unable to speak. Why do you think that is? In verse 16, we see that it could possibly be because he expressed doubt. He didn't understand how he and Elizabeth could have children as they were older. Was he muted to avoid aborting the promise? I believe we don't realize how much weight our words carry, and to be honest, not just our words, but those around us. Have you ever shared a dream or a goal you wanted to accomplish, and as soon as you did, they expressed doubt. They may have said, "Well, how is that supposed to happen? "You come from a family of ______(fill in the blank)" When we hear these words, it causes us to express doubt, and so maybe we don't pursue that dream. I believe we can see the same thing when it comes to relationships.

If you are unmarried, do not seek relational advice from your single friends because they will have you single. If there is a leak in your bathroom, would you call a plumber or an interior decorator? Talking to your unmarried friends is like calling that interior decorator, instead of a plumber. A lot of times, we seek advice from people that have never had this experience. If you are seeking relationship advice, I encourage you to talk to someone that has been married, preferably for a long time. Whether intentional or unintentional, whatever advice your single friends are giving you can cause you to doubt your relationship and end the relationship abruptly. I also encourage you to pray about the situation.

Because our words carry so much weight, we are not careful, it can cause the promise to be prematurely aborted. Let's revisit the story of Elizabeth of Zacharias. If he expressed his doubt to her, it could have put stress on her and the baby and they could have lost John. Sometimes we need to be quiet. If you have exciting news, you want to share while you are in the middle of your promise, either tell someone you trust that will keep your excitement to themselves or wait until the promise has come to pass. I get it, we live in a day and age where our lives are on social media, but sometimes we should keep things to ourselves.

Sometimes it's not always the weight of our words but someone else's. You must be careful who you are speaking to because other people's negative words or prayers can speak against your promise without you even knowing it. I encourage you to protect the promise at all costs. Elizabeth even went into hiding sort of speak in verse 24. "24 Now after this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for five months she secluded herself completely, saying, 25 "This is how the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor on me, to take away my [i]disgrace among men." Most women wait until the end of the first trimester to share their pregnancy news. We see Elizabeth waited several months before anyone knew. I encourage you to watch what you are speaking to yourself and others regarding your promise. Hold on tight and wait until it has come to pass before sharing your good news.