Speak Your Faith

Yesterday we talked about Ariel giving up her voice to become human.  God knows the power that our voices have.  When they are used properly they can change the world.

We see the power of the voice in today’s Biblical Character Study.  Today we meet Zechariah.  Take a look at Luke 1:5-24 and 57-80.

Zak was a holy man and was also ancient.  While doing his job in the Temple, an angel appears and tells him that his wife (also ancient) was going to have a baby.  Not only that, this baby was to prepare the way for the Messiah (John the Baptist)

I have always felt sorry for Zak.  He is stunned and simply asks “How can I know this?”  This doesn’t go over well  He expressed doubt.  The angel Gabriel then tells our pal that he will lose his ability to speak until the baby is born.  Ouch!

God obviously knows the power of our voices.  And he can even take that away if we use it negatively.  What do you use your voice for?  Does it build up or tear down?  Does it praise or complain?  Does it speak faith or doubt?

The story concludes with the birth of John and Zechariah’s voice is restored.  But he has learned his lesson.  The first thing he does is speak blessing to God.  He proceeds to prophecy about the Messiah.  This is a man who now understood the power of his words.

Yesterday we focused on not allowing others to take our voices or willingly giving them up to please other people.  Today we see what can happen if we use our voices negatively.  God may not physically take your voice away but people will stop listening.  If all you do is grumble, complain and live in fear, people will move on.  If you are a positive person who is uplifting to be around, your voice will carry.  Learn from Zechariah’s mistake and use your voice to speak your faith.