Luke 1:18
 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous– to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Zechariah’s reaction to the cheering words of the angel was disappointing: his response to the angel’s word came perilously close to doubt.

Zechariah wanted more than the word of this heavenly visitor; he wanted a sign: How can I know this will happen?

Zechariah saw only the obstacle; he and Elizabeth were both past childbearing years, so he reminded the angel of this fact as if it had somehow been overlooked.

This reaction was definitely the response of disbelief.

It has been pointed out Abraham, Gideon, and Hezekiah reacted similarly to amazing promises.
* Abraham asked, “How am I to know” (Gen. 15:8)?
* Gideon asked for a sign; in fact, for two signs (Judg. 6:36-40)?
* Hezekiah asked for a sign to show he would be healed (2 Kings 20:8-11)?

There are differences, however:
* Abraham’s response was definitely one of faith, not of unbelief.
* The same holds true in the case of Gideon.
* The phraseology employed by Hezekiah shows he wanted to believe God’s promise.

Zechariah’s response almost amounted to, “I don’t believe you, for people as old as we are do not become parents.”

The point to be made here is not criticism or surprise at Zachariah’s unbelief, who could blame him for not immediately saying, “Oh that’s wonderful I knew God would answer our prayer!”?

Often we forget the humanity of the people we learn about in the Bible. The point to apply in this case is God can and will use any of us; even those who doubt!

God is sensitive to our doubts, understands them, and will react to them exactly as His Son did in Mark 9:24, “Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!'”

How has God helped you overcome your doubts?