December
10

“Whereby Shall I Know This?”

And Zacharias said to the angel, Whereby shall I know this? For I am old°, and my wife is far advanced in her days. And the angel answering said to him, I am Gabriel, who stands in the sight of God, and am sent to speak to thee, and to announce to thee these good tidings. And behold, thou shalt be silent, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall come to pass, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their time. And the people were waiting° for Zacharias, and they marveled that he delayed so long in the temple°. But° when he came out he could not speak to them, and they knew that he had seen a vision in the temple°; and he beckoned to them, and remained dumb. (Luke 1:18–22)

In all temptation there is somewhat of doubt concerning the Lord’s presence and mercy, and concerning salvation and the like things; for those who are in temptation are in interior anxiety, even to despair; in which they are for the most part kept, to the end that they may be at length confirmed in the fact that all things are of the Lord’s mercy; that they are saved by Him alone. (Arcana Cœlestia 2334:1)

The universal principle of faith on man’s part is that he should believe in the Lord; for by believing in Him there is conjunction with Him and thereby salvation. To believe in the Lord is to have confidence that He saves; and as only those who live rightly can have this confidence, this, too, is meant by believing in Him. (True Christian Religion 2:3)

While He lived in the world the Lord was in continual combats of temptations, and in continual victories, from a constant inmost confidence and faith that because He was fighting for the salvation of the whole human race from pure love, He could not but conquer. (Arcana Cœlestia 1812:1)

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