Do Not Be Afraid

"While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John." Luke 1:10-12

Why do angels, God's Messengers, have to tell people not to be afraid when they appear to them? If an angel of the Lord set down next to me at the kitchen table while I am trying to write this, I would be afraid. The angel would be unexpected. Angels are God's holy messengers. I am anything but holy. But because of the gift of faith I have in Jesus, I am a child of God.

Zechariah didn't expect an angel of the Lord to appear to him in the temple, so he was afraid. He wasn't ready to hear that God had heard, was answering his prayer, and he would become a father even when it seemed no longer possible.

Are we guilty of the same thing, praying but don't really expecting God to answer us, at least in the way we want. How many of are living in fear instead of by faith? God is in control. Nothing is impossible for Him. Listen to the angel of the Lord. "Do not be afraid. God has heard your prayer." That is what we need to hear and believe  today.