can you imagine? being young and in love, incredibly humble in every way, and out of nowhere an angel coming to you and saying, "sooo uh, by the way, God kinda likes you and thinks you're worthy, so you're going to have a son, name him Jesus and He shall be the Son of the Most High." Can you imagine?
can you then imagine saying in response, "um alright. soooo HOW exactly is this going to happen, yo? i'm a virgin."
first off, she didn't freak out. it wasn't like she didn't believe him. she just kind of looked at the facts and inquired how. and then can you imagine his response?
"so the Holy Spirit is gonna stop by, you'll be covered by Him, and then you'll be pregnant. easy peasy. and if you don't believe me, your sister, who everyone says is barren and much too old to have a baby, is six months pregnant. she's having a son too. they'll be cousins. God can do whatever He wants."
Can. You. Imagine?
i'm pretty sure i would choke. i'm pretty sure we all would be like, "wait, say WHAT?! you need to 'splain yourself Lucy {Gabriel}." but she didn't. she simply said, "i trust God. ok."
WHAAAAAAAAAT?!
that. is. FAITH, people!!
Mary's response is one of the greatest statements of faith in history.
where is our faith? how much do we trust in God? would we simply say yes if we had been in her shoes? DO we say yes when God is calling us to trust Him. Mary had no idea what she was about to face. she didn't know how her family, friends, and the other members in Nazareth would've reacted. she didn't know that her beloved, Joseph, would question her fidelity and decide in his heart to divorce her before hearing the truth in a vision. she didn't know her plans for her tidy little life were going to be turned on its ear. she didn't know how hard the road would be. and she definitely didn't know her precious baby would be crucified to save us all. but she trusted God to take care of the details.
she trusted..despite her circumstances. she was young, poor, and in the eyes of most not necessarily the right candidate for such a huge task. i mean, do we normally trust teenagers who no real life experience with huge things? nope. but God isn't interested in our abilities. He's only interested in our availability. having faith and being available and willing to say yes are ALL he needs. God needs the humble and the meek for His plans.
No matter who you are, the Lord can use you.
i'm going to go out on a limb and just say she was probably terrified. i know i would be. heck, an angel DIDN'T appear to me and my kids certainly aren't the Son/Daughter of the Most High, but i was definitely scared at becoming a mom. there's so many challenges that i had to, and have yet to, face. and back in her day, given her circumstance, she had a lot more to deal with. But He tells us not to fear.
"The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"- Psalm 118:6 {NKJV}
"...Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you." {NIV}
No matter what problems you face, the Lord is with you.
this whole story of the birth of jesus and resulting christmas seemed so far fetched, so miraculous. a lot of times God places us in situations that seem too big to deal with. here's the truth, for us...they are. we can't do it on our own and in all honesty, we're not supposed to. Even when it seems unbelievable, have strong faith and trust the Word of God.
No matter what He promises, the Lord can do it.
it's no coincidence that Jesus came as a baby. He had to be born of a virgin to make Him holy. this was the direct intervention of God. the miracle of the virgin birth is similar to the rebirth of us as christians. Christ says, "No man can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." {NIV} You must be born again!
No matter who you are, you need a supernatural birth.
mary had faith. more faith than i do at a lot of times. currently i'm going through some serious trials. it's not lost on me that this is all happening directly after being baptized and making a public proclamation of my faith in the Lord. i see you satan. i know he is working TIRELESSLY to make feel like i have no hope, that my world will crumble around me and i'll be left with nothing. i know he is trying to make me doubt the goodness of God.
but he will not win.
i have faith. and my God is faithful. and i know He is with me, carrying me when i'm too weak to carry myself. and i know He has a plan in store for me...greater than i could've ever imagined for myself.
and for that, i am thankful.
Faith is such a beautiful thing. And I think that if we'd only make ourselves more humble and available to do God's work, we'd surprised at the plans He has for us and the places He wants to take us.
ReplyDelete