When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her relatives and neighbors heard that the Lord has shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”
They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
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People are not always going to understand when you are faithful to God. Often times it means going against what is normal or comfortable. They couldn’t understand why they would want to name the baby John and kept questioning them on it…because it wasn’t normal. To go against the norm is not always easy. It sometimes takes great faith and strength to stand up against what is normal or customary. But even in those moments remember the last sentence of this passage, “For the Lord’s hand was with him.” When we stand up for God, He stands with us. We don’t have to worry about being comfortable or even liked…as long as we have God. Be different. Stand out. Be a little weird. God’s hand will be with you.
A Journey With Jesus 