After Zechariah’s imposed silence for his unbelief, he bursts out in ‘song’, so to speak, when John is named. He recalls how God has provided for and preserved His people in generations past just as He promised. His prophecy is recorded in Luke 1:67-80 but we will take just the first portion today.

Luke 1:67-75 “And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, ⁶⁸ “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
    for he has visited and redeemed his people
⁶⁹ and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David,
⁷⁰ as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
⁷¹ that we should be saved from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us;
⁷² to show the mercy promised to our fathers
    and to remember his holy covenant,
⁷³ the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
⁷⁴     that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
⁷⁵     in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

Zechariah extols God for His keeping of his promises to David, being their redeemer, sending prophets, saving them from their enemies, showing mercy to their forefathers, keeping the covenant He made with Abraham, providing times and places where they could serve Him without fear and always being holy and righteous. Looking at this list in Zechariah’s prophecy, I am reminded how God is our Preserver. He preserved the children of Israel and He will preserve us too. When we trust in Christ, God will continue to do the good work He started in us. Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” God preserves our lives for His purpose, and will see us through life and preserves our salvation. I love John 10:28“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Once we belong to Him, He does not let go!

As we look back in history with Zechariah, we see God preserved the nation of Israel to be a beacon of His light to the world. Jesus called himself in John 8:12 ” “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” God will always preserve His light. Zechariah knew that the light of God that was coming would be powerful and would not be overcome.

Do you see God as the preserver of your faith and hope? When I think of a preserver, a life preserver comes to mind. David had a lot of times when he called upon God to preserve him- in battle, in his fight for the throne, in his personal relationships. Psalm 97:10“O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.” Psalm116:6 “The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.” Psalm 31:23 “Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.” David knew that God was his lifeline and keeping his focus upon Him was essential to life. Jesus is our lifeline and our hope for the future. I love the focus in Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Stick with the preserver, He will see you through.

Linda