Rising Faith

With only 10 days to go before Christmas Day itself, the pressure is rising.
Shops are slashing the prices of items which haven't sold as well as expected, and bargains may yet be acquired. But what else might be happening?
I have been struck by the way the central characters in the Christmas story respond to their encounters with God's activity.
As we saw yesterday, Zechariah struggled to believe that God could do what he said. 'Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” (Luke 1.18) In other words, "I don't believe God can do what you have just said!"
The heart of unbelief is to reckon that God cannot deliver on his promises. On the other hand, rising faith believes that God can deliver on his promises.
So Gabriel then demonstrates that God is able to deliver. He provides Zechariah with a startling demonstration of God's power.  'But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.” (Luke 1.20) Once Zechariah realised that he indeed could NOT speak, I guess he realised that he had better start trusting God.
He goes home, and in due course, Elizabeth becomes pregnant. Zechariah will have learned that God is able to do what he promises. That will have led to rising faith.
For many of us, we may have a theoretical faith that God is faithful and loving. But our faith will only grow and rise if we find ourselves ready to trust particular promises in difficult situations. In these days, where are the pressure points in your life? What do you think the Lord wants to do there? Can you trust him to make a difference? As we learn to trust him outside our comfort zones, then we will see our faith rise and we will be growing in wonderful ways.
Best wishes,
Richard