{"id":107,"date":"2012-11-05T14:11:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-05T14:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=107"},"modified":"2012-11-05T14:11:00","modified_gmt":"2012-11-05T14:11:00","slug":"sidetracked-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=107","title":{"rendered":"Sidetracked…Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have I mentioned lately that I have a lot going on this month? I certainly do and keep adding tasks and projects to that list of on-going objectives. I woke yesterday morning quite overwhelmed and really not certain that I could possibly get it all done in time.<\/span><\/p>\n

But I received a good bit of encouragement from some great friends yesterday. It gave me an added boost of energy to get on the projects that need to be done today and tomorrow. Once these are off my plate, then I can get back to working on my original goals. And let\u2019s face it, it\u2019s only November 5th<\/sup>!<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes we do get sidetracked by unforeseen things in our life. Whether it is good or bad, \u201clife\u201d has a way of getting in the way at times.<\/span>
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<\/a>There was a couple in the New Testament who knew what being sidetracked was like. How an unforeseen incident changed their lives. <\/span><\/div>\n
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Zechariah and Elizabeth were along in years. Scripture says, \u201cwell along in years.\u201d <\/i>(Luke 1:7 \u2013 NIV) Each were descendants of Aaron and Zechariah was a priest.<\/span><\/div>\n
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I love the section of Scripture right before this statement. \u201cBoth of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord\u2019s commandments and regulations blamelessly.\u201d<\/i> (Luke 1:6 \u2013 NIV)<\/span><\/div>\n
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I don\u2019t know about you, but I would love to hear God say that about me. To take notice that my obedience to Him is out of my devotion and love for what He\u2019s done in my life (yes that was a sidetrack).<\/span><\/div>\n
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So when it was Zechariah\u2019s turn to go into the temple and burn incense, an angel appeared to him and told him of the upcoming birth of his son. Details were given on how he was to be raised, what his purpose in life would be, and then the name was given. John.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Zechariah didn\u2019t believe it could be so, because they were \u201cwell along in years.\u201d Now here\u2019s my question. How could you not believe if an angel appeared to you? How could anyone possibly believe that it wasn\u2019t going to happen? Well Zechariah didn\u2019t believe and because of his unbelief, he was unable to speak until the baby was eight days old. That is a long time to keep silent. That, I would say, was an unforeseen incident that kept Zechariah side-tracked.<\/span><\/div>\n
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But it doesn\u2019t stop there. Elizabeth becomes pregnant. But Elizabeth\u2019s response to this unforeseen event was completely different than Zechariah\u2019s. She spoke these words. \u201cThe Lord has done this for me. In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.\u201d <\/i>(Luke 1:25 \u2013 NIV) Elizabeth was thrilled. Her seclusion was a treasured sidetrack.<\/span><\/div>\n
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When John was born, we are told that Elizabeth\u2019s neighbors and relatives \u201cheard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.\u201d <\/i>(Luke 1:57 \u2013 NIV) I find it interesting that Zechariah wasn\u2019t mentioned at this point. The priest who was unable to speak due to his unbelief perhaps was still sidetracked. But it didn\u2019t take long for his belief to be revealed to his community.<\/span><\/div>\n
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When asked what they were going to name the child, Zechariah asked for a writing tablet. On this tablet he wrote, \u201cHis name is John.\u201d<\/i> (Luke 1:63 \u2013 NIV) Immediately, Zechariah was able to speak and he praised God. <\/span><\/div>\n
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Through this miracle, their neighbors and friends were filled with awe. It was all they could talk about. They knew that God had been in the middle of this event.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Elizabeth\u2019s pregnancy was certainly an unforeseen event. I believe we can look at both Elizabeth\u2019s and Zechariah\u2019s reactions to find the best way for us to deal with something that can sidetrack us in our lives.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Zechariah was unbelieving. Elizabeth believed.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Zechariah questioned. Elizabeth accepted.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Zechariah lacked faith. Elizabeth proved to be faithful.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Zechariah asked for evidence. Elizabeth acknowledged her gift.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Do you see a pattern? Each loved God and were obedient to His ways, there\u2019s no doubt about that. But they reacted to this announcement differently.<\/span><\/div>\n
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So I must ask the question, \u201cHow do you respond to unforeseen occurrences?\u201d Do you lean more toward Zechariah\u2019s reaction or Elizabeth\u2019s? I think we need to be prepared for the inevitable. Life will throw us a curve ball. There\u2019s no question about that. How we react is really what counts.<\/span><\/div>\n
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I will get through this week. I will get through this month. I can even say I will get through the unforeseen incidents that jump onto the path ahead of me. But after reading of Elizabeth\u2019s determination to be faithful to God, I know it\u2019s possible to go through it all in obedience, with grace, and by God\u2019s strength.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Now I must get to work!<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Donna<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have I mentioned lately that I have a lot going on this month? I certainly do and keep adding tasks and projects to that list of on-going objectives. I woke yesterday morning quite overwhelmed and really not certain that I could possibly get it all done in time. But I received a good bit of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_s2mail":"","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,8,11,17,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-following-god","category-glorifying-god","category-loving-god","category-obeying-god","category-trusting-god"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}