Do you believe in angels? That they stand in the presence of God? That they deliver His message to people? Then, you can believe the entire Bible!

35 A king delights in a wise servant [one who believes what His Master has told him], but a shameful servant [one who acts on his own knowledge] arouses his fury .

The best illustration for this verse is Jesus’ parable of the three servants who were given a certain amount of money to invest (Matthew 25:14-30). Two servants took Him at His word and did what He told them to do. The third servant did according to what he thought was best, “‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. ²⁵ I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’” Jesus called him a wicked servant (“wicked” means that we act on our own rather than with the Spirit).

Now, let’s look at the Christmas narrative and see two different faiths:

1. The angel, Gabriel, appeared to Zechariah and proclaimed God’s message to him (Luke 1:11-17). Zechariah didn’t believe him based upon what he thinks according to his experience. Gabriel’s reproof was strong, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! ²⁰ But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.” Gabriel’s prediction certainly came true and ended just as he said it would (Luke 1:63-64).
2. Gabriel also appeared to Mary, who questioned the “how,” but not the power behind the “how” (Luke 1:34). Gabriel explained the “how” and then said, “For nothing is impossible with God“ (Luke 1:37).

Here’s where it gets interesting (as if it already wasn’t!). My version of the NIV and my computer version of the NLV both say, “For no word from God will ever fail.” The Amplified Version says, “For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.“ So, not only is nothing impossible with God, whatever He says is going to happen WILL HAPPEN! The same goes for the entire Bible. “For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:21.

Therefore, beginning in Genesis 1:1, we can believe and trust in God’s Word to be true and accurate. In fact, I have collected some 58 verses/passages throughout the Bible that reveal God’s creative power and refer to His creation of all things. If we don’t believe how God said He did it, then we can’t trust any of the other passages, either.

Which faith will you have? The faith of Zechariah, who believed only what his experiences in life taught him? Or the faith of Mary, who took God at His word? The fun part of Mary’s faith is that she walked with the Spirit and watched God’s plan unfold. We can do the same if we believe first and then ask God to reveal truth to us. It is happening all the time in the medical field, in archeology, in astronomy, in biology–in every area of science! It is even happening in today’s current events. Let’s believe God and allow Him to reveal to us how He is working in our world!

Abba, I pray that You will increase our faith, that You will enlighten the eyes of our hearts, and give us spiritual wisdom and constant revelation. May You do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to Your power that is at work within us. May You receive all glory in Your church and in Christ Jesus through this generation and the next, and forever and ever! Amen. (based upon Ephesians 1:18, 3:16-21).