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Zechariah said to the angel, 
"How can I be sure this will happen? 
Im an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years."

Then the angel said, 

"I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. 
It was he who sent me to bring you this good news!
But now, since you didn't believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time."
Luke 1:18-20 NLT

Nothing in Zechariah's life had prepared him to come face to face with Gabriel. 
He was a priest, in the holiest place where God is met, on his own, and an angel has appeared with a prophecy spoken over him and he's having trouble believing it. 
Because it would take a miracle.
It would take something beyond his comprehension for this old infertile couple to have a baby.
And I'm just like Zechariah.
I go to church, and here about God entering the world as a baby it's beyond me. 
When He says that I am His beloved, that He has known me from before time, chosen me, made me an heir, part of His Family, His great big diverse and wonder full Family of every tribe and background and language and culture, that I am in fact, dearly loved, it's hard to grasp. 
Just like Zach, our world tells us something different, our experiences shout something else. 
And yet here we are, reminded again that God loves us so much He enters the Story to make a way. 
Because He Loves.
Loves You.
#christmas2023

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