When was the last time you had one of those moments where something seemed too good to be true?
When I think of something seeming "too good", my mind immediately goes to a game Meredith and I used to play. Ever since we dated, we would go to McDonald's during their old Monopoly promotion, purchase a large fry with medium drink (the most "game pieces" for your money) and see if we won anything. You could play buy just pulling the pieces off your food containers and by entering codes from each piece online. Most of the time we didn't get anything interesting. If we were lucky, we'd get a free food item. One night, as we were entering the pieces online, a prompt appeared that said, "Congratulations! Instant winner!" I almost closed the window before Meredith pointed at it and said, "Is that for real?" It said we had won a free trip to a Beaches Resort of our choosing for 4 days - 3 nights.
The funniest thing about this unique experience is that I didn't want to tell anyone. There was no way it was real. Even as we went through the process of redeeming the prize, I didn't believe it was real until we were literally stepping off the plane in Jamaica. It was too good to be true and, I reasoned, these things don't really happen to people like me. And yet, there I was on a free trip.
When I read the story of Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, during the Christmas season, I wonder how many of us have found ourselves in supernatural situations that seemed too good to be true? Zechariah was old and childless, yet an angel appeared to him telling him that he'd have a son who would do great things in the name of God. He responded in utter disbelief...
18 “How can I know this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “For I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.” 19 The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and tell you this good news. 20 Now listen. You will become silent and unable to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.” (Luke 1:18-20)
When we read these stories, we often look at people like Zechariah and think, "How stupid can you be? It was a freaking angel!" But maybe that's being too harsh. Zechariah was in the midst of a good thing. A really good thing. You could say it was unbelievably good. As a result of his disbelief, he was partially robbed of a blessing to share the great news with others.
When we experience God, it can sometimes seem surreal. We have a life-altering experience or a "spiritual awakening", but then remain silent. Why? Are we embarrassed? Does the reality of what God did start to fade because our earthly doubts start to kick in? Zechariah was made mute by the angel, but sometimes we silence ourselves by refusing to believe the wonderous things God has done. Went end up robbing ourselves of blessings God has freely offered because it may seem just a little too good to be true.
The Christmas season is especially full of joyous and wonderous acts of God. We see it all the time. When we do, we shouldn't be so cynical to think we're imagining things or that "these sorts of things don't really happen to us". Sometimes God is just being good and blessing you with the ability to see it. If God has blessed you, share it loudly! You never know who might be blessed through your testimony.
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