When the answer comes and we don’t see it

Mirian Montanari Grüdtner

“There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” Luke 1:56

As Christians, we face dilemmas in the journey of spiritual growth, in the process of sanctification, in learning to depend on God. In particular, the extent of our faithfulness to God is challenged when afflictions, sorrows, and injustices arise, and we have difficulty dealing with them.

Among the faithful of Israel, who awaited the coming of the Messiah, were the elderly priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, who were “righteous before God.” In their quiet and holy life, their faith shone through the darkness of those evil days. This godly couple was promised a son, who would “go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways” (Luke 1:76).

Zechariah, a priest who lived in the mountains of Judea, had gone to Jerusalem to minister for a week in the temple to fulfill his shift—a service he rendered twice a year.

Before the golden altar in the holy place of the sanctuary, the cloud of incense was rising before God with the prayers of Israel. Suddenly, he saw an angel of the Lord and was frightened! Although he had prayed for years for the coming of the Redeemer, now that his prayers were about to be answered, he couldn’t believe it and was filled with fear and self-condemnation.

Have you ever prayed for something, and when you seemed to be heard, you couldn’t discern the divine answer? It’s funny that we need to exercise faith to see God’s answers to our prayers, isn’t it?

Have you ever asked God to increase your faith and when God allowed trials to strengthen your faith, you felt that God had abandoned you? This is one of the dilemmas we face. For six years, I had dreamed of studying for a certain course. But some circumstances arose, and I began to fear that to do so was not God’s will at that moment and I asked Him to intervene if it was not His will. And He did. For a month, I lamented that I had not been able to fulfill the dream. I struggled between faith and conviction that God was in charge and frustrated that I had not tried harder to fulfill the dream. Then I decided to stop lamenting and God clearly showed me His great purposes for me.

Never lose sight of God’s sovereignty. If you have cried out to God, He will answer, perhaps in a unique way. Ask God for the discernment to see His answer.