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Luke 1:80
The angel Gabriel told Zacharias in Luke 1:14-17 (NKJV), “‘And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, “to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children” [Malachi 4:5,6], and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’”
John the Baptist was filled with God’s Holy Spirit, even from birth, at a time when God did not send His Holy Spirit but to a few. John became strong in spirit as he grew into manhood and prepared to announce the coming of the Messiah.
This is the fulfillment of the promise of, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD;’” (Isaiah 40:3a).
When God prepared to send Jesus the Messiah to save the world from sin (John 3:16-17), He made the plan to “announce” his coming. This was not meant to be a secret, but that all should hear the good news. This was important in extending God’s great love to all of humanity and not just the Israelites, as we find in John 1:10-13 proclaiming, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
This announcement makes the transition from the physical Law of the Old Testament to the worship of God in spirit and in truth. Jesus states in John 4:23-24, “‘But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’”
Dear Lord,
Please help us to be strong in spirit, as was John the Baptist, and help us to be patient in waiting on Your will for our lives to progress. Please help us to keep our focus on You and to know that You have a purpose for each of us in fulfilling Your will for our lives. In Jesus name I pray, amen.