Prepare Him Room: Spiritual Readiness and Formation

Providence is the governing power of God that oversees his creation and works out his plans. In other words, providence is God’s will.

In this story of Zechariah encountering the angel Gabriel, we are seeing God’s providence. We are seeing God’s will for the coming Messiah to save people from their sins. It was in God’s plans and will for John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus and turn people’s hearts to him. We also see God’s providence in both Zechariah and Elizabeth being too old to have children, and yet by God’s power they have a son who would lead people to Jesus.

But does God’s providence mean that we do not have a choice? We still have free will to follow God’s will or not, and the choice to not follow God’s will never ends well. There is a constant battle in us to follow God’s will or our own. When we follow our own will, we think we know what’s best, but far too often do our expectations turn into the complete opposite – Zechariah can testify to that. But when we follow God’s will, we see that he knows what is best for us, and things always work out for our good and his glory (Romans 8:28). So let’s prepare Jesus room by following God’s will for our lives, for his providential care for his people never fails!