Now while he was serving as priest ... there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him ... But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord." (Luke 1:8a, 11a, 12a, 13-15a)

Poor Zechariah! After a long life of disappointment, suddenly an angel appears to tell him he will have a son in his old age. Surely we can forgive him if he wondered, "Do I really still want a baby at this point?"

But it doesn't matter, does it? God's joyful, glorious plan is already sweeping him away, and that child is going to be born no matter how many doubts Zechariah has about it. Why? Because God knows what is best—and this is part of His plan to send His own dear Son Jesus into the world to conquer evil and bring us all back to God's family.

We, too, have times when life changes suddenly, and we're not sure we can cope. That's human. But God still has hold of us, and He knows where He is going. And no matter what comes, we have Jesus—the One who loves us so much He lay down His life for us, to rescue us from all evil. Now that He has risen from the dead, we know He will be with us every step of the way.

WE PRAY: When I'm scared, Lord, be close to me! Amen.

Reflection Questions:

* Do you ever want to yell "Stop!" when things are happening too fast?

* Tell the story of a time when you felt "swept away" by events.

* How did God uphold you during that time?

Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Today's Bible Readings: Ezra 3-4    1 John 5

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