Note: On Tuesdays and some Sundays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Although you are barren, having borne no children, you shall conceive and bear a son.” (Judges 13:23, NRSVCE)
Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.” The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.” (Luke 1:18-20, NRSVCE)
Sometimes, the good news is easy to see. We fall in love. The baby is born healthy. We get that promotion. The bid on the
house of our dreams is accepted. The frightening diagnosis turns out to have been erroneous. The big event goes off without a hitch and everyone is happy.
But our earthly lives are also filled with other news: news that appears to be challenging. News that is challenging. The baby’s delivery goes bad due to human error, and he or she doesn’t make it through the delivery. The diagnosis was right. Someone else gets the job, the house, the car, the love.
But somewhere inside of those tragedies and disappointments, the Good News lives. It can be hard to find, but it’s there, just as the Lord delivered Samson’s mother from her barrenness when it suited His plan, just as Zechariah’s speech was restored when the things foretold had taken place. The less we understand about God, the greater the opportunity to surrender to His will. And that, after all, is what we are called to do: Believe in His goodness and love, and reflect that confident belief even in the hardest of situations.
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