God has sent his presence, his messengers (angels), his love, and most of all, his Son, to us to cast out our fear. Zechariah is caught up in the whole exciting faithfulness of God that occurs with the coming of the Messiah. God has chosen Zechariah, along with his wife Elizabeth, to play crucial roles in the fulfillment of God's greatest promises. This faithfulness, however, was experienced as a very personal blessing in addition to their roles in the coming of the Messiah. Zechariah experienced his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to offer sacrifice at the great Temple. Zechariah received a visit from God's heavenly messenger, an angel. Zechariah was given a son in his old age. But, Zechariah was also given a job—he was to name his son John. When we faithfully obey God, we are never completely sure what the result of that obedience will be. Often times, we feel that no one will really know whether we obey or not. Yet God is still at work in his world through his people's obedience to bring about great things. Let's not take God's commands lightly. Who knows where that "simple" obedience may ultimately lead!