Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

Luke 1:18

For Our Consolation

After a series of miscarriages, Animbea gave up on her hope of ever carrying a baby in her arms. Her lifelong anticipation slipped from her grip. Years passed, and she buried her desire and celebrated with others with their newborns.

One day, she felt some discomfort. Nothing more than malaria, she thought. In this part of the world, everybody is a doctor issues of malaria come up. Yet, her husband insisted on a visit to the doctor’s office. And surprise! Not one, but two tiny lives snuggled in her womb. This time, there was no heartbreak. And now she enjoys the warmth of her two babies to the glory of God.

When you least expect something, the glory of God beams through to light up your life. After suffering through stressful disappointments, God surprised Animbea with a set of twins.

We may lose all hope, and our expectations may get displaced on our prayer list. When possibilities become impossibilities for us, and opportunities dry up like withered leaves. People make their conclusions and pronouncements about our situation. However, when all eyes stop watching; and ears turn to other dramas. It is then that God walks in with His providential collection of blessings. His glory appears to confound everybody, including very ourselves. Our smile becomes different, and our spirit blossoms. People’s attention is more respectful and enduring, and God unveils His favor to renew us for the future.

Zechariah and Elizabeth experienced such a surprise in their golden ages. God blessed them with John the Baptist when they least expected it (Lk. 1:18, 57, 66). After a long time of unanswered prayers for a child, the old priest and Elizabeth could smile at last.

So, you too can dream again and expect the best from our good God. When every sign before you is announcing different dynamics, you can trust Him with confident assurance. You can hope again in Christ when nothing makes sense anymore.

That, my friend, is how you walk by faith with the fourth person in Nebuchadnezzar’s overheated furnace—Christ Jesus our Lord. He is full of surprises and miraculous orchestrations that can shock you when you are no longer expecting anything!