Derik's 5-Minutes

Luke 1:78-79
78 By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

So here is Derik’s five minutes. OK. I didn’t do this in 5 minutes. I set some time aside to read and think what God would be saying to me in this scripture. But as I began to listen, I began to wonder, “What is the context for this passage? What is going on here?” So I did some more reading. Then a picture started to form.

This portion of scripture is spoken by John the Baptists’ dad after he became mute. Let’s rewind the tape.

It had been about 400 years since Israel had heard from God through any of the prophets. All this time they had been waiting for the Messiah. When Zechariah, John’s dad, had gone into the temple to do his very privileged priestly duty, he got to have a conversation with the angel Gabriel. The angel had told him that he was going to have a son and to name him John. He also gave a long list of the cool characteristics of this yet to be born baby.

1. He will be great in the eyes of the Lord.
2. Can’t touch alcohol.
3. Have the Holy Spirit before being born.
4. Be a Billy Graham of the day turning many Israelites to God.
5. Have the power of Elijah.
6. Precede the coming of the Lord prepping people for Him to come.
7. And a few other cool things.

Zechariah didn’t seem to be listening to what the angel said after he was told he was going to have a kid, because he didn’t have problem with the long list. All he was thinking was, “I am an old man and my wife is no spring chicken either.” (My paraphrase). So the Angel made him mute because of his unbelief.

Fast forward to when the baby is born. Like any good Jewish family they had the circumcision done 8 days after he was born. People were very curious as to what his name was going to be. His mom Liz (short for Elizabeth) says John. Everyone was in shock and awe because it wasn’t a family name. So they look to the father to see what his reaction was. He breaks out the iPad and writes down, ”His name is John.” SHAZAM! All of a sudden he could speak again. And He began to praise God. Like wildfire the news spread through the surrounding areas. So they all showed up wondering who this child will be. Zechariah began to explain what John’s ministry would look like.

John was to be the guy preparing the way for Jesus, who was going to be born 6 months after him. He would be the prophet of the Most High. And Zechariah was explaining that Jesus was going to be the light breaking upon them. That Jesus was going to shed the light on those who are sitting in darkness. That Jesus was going to guide us to the path of peace.

This isn’t just some cutesy verse that would look good on the wall in some frame somewhere. This was news after 400 years of “darkness”. These people needed some light. They were hungry for something like this. They might not have even known it at the time. They were going about their daily business as usual; doing their work, feeding the kids, taking care of the house, not hearing from the Lord. Sound familiar?

We get caught up in the daily grind of things, taking little or no time to hear from the Lord. We end up sitting in darkness for a long time sometimes. The crazy thing is we don’t have to wait for a prophet or an angel to come along to give us the good news. We have Gods word everywhere, and we too often neglect it for the “necessary things” in life; work, the kids, the house, etcetera.

Are you hungry? Have you been in darkness too long?

I just met with the principal at my sons’ school for an interview. I was asking him a question that regarded failure. He said, “If you think you are doing it all right, you are probably already in trouble.”

Are you doing it all right? Are there some areas where you could use some work in your life? Maybe it’s regarding spirituality. Maybe it’s integrity. There could be a whole host of things. Why not continue pausing and listening to the Lord. And try not to freak out at the first thing God says. Really sit and listen. What is he saying to you? Share some thoughts. There is most likely someone else in the same circumstance as you. Thanks.