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Luke 1: 26-38
Birth of Jesus Foretold 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her |
Mary was an ordinary young woman, no doubt looking forward to getting married and all that life had in store for her. What was extraordinary about Mary was that she trusted God implicitly.
Although "greatly troubled" by what the angel told her, she did not make excuses or ask for proof. Mary trusted God so much, she surrendered herself completely to His will. She risked losing everything - her family, her fiancé, respect from her community - to play the part God had chosen for her in His wonderful plan of salvation. She only asked "How can this be", a perfectly reasonable question in the circumstances. Humbly accepting the answer "nothing is impossible with God", she made herself available.
How often do we - like many children at this time of year - go to God with our "list" of needs or our own ideas of what we want to happen?
Perhaps we should be like Mary and wholeheartedly trust in our all-powerful God, who cares for us like no other. He knows what's best and although we may endure turbulent times, as Mary did, supports and cares for us until He brings us through in His will.
All we have to do is trust Him.
Violet and Arthur W