Muted By Lack of Faith

November 6

(Luke 1:18-20 NIV) ““Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years." {19} The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. {20} And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.””

(Mark 16:11-14 NIV) “When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it. {12} Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. {13} These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either. {14} Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.”

(Matthew 21:32 NIV) “For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”

After Zechariah recovered from his initial fear, the angel Gabriel shared some incredible news. He would become a father, and Elizabeth, in her old age, was going to be a mother. Zechariah was flabbergasted, and doubted that this could be true. Gabriel told him that this prophecy came directly from the mouth of God and that since he did not believe God’s word, he would be unable to speak until after the baby was born. We can protest that we would have had the same reaction, but the truth is this: Zechariah was muted by a lack of faith. Many today have been also muted by a lack of faith -- not by an angel, but by a fear of being ostracized for speaking the truth in love. We have hit the mute button on our witness because we doubt God’s word. We doubt His command to share the gospel, and we doubt His miraculous ability to change the hearts of lost people. Un-mute your life today! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day