Luke 1:26-38—In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by
God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose
name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came
to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was
much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with
God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name
him Jesus. 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 ancestor David. He will reign
over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary
said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to
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 holy; he will be called
Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived
a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For
nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant
of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed
from her.
I can’t even begin to fathom the fit of emotions Mary must
have felt when Gabriel came to her. To
begin with, the mere act of seeing an angel, in person so to speak, and have a
conversation with him is enough to throw any of us for a loop. But when we think about what she is told, I
am in awe of Mary’s faith. Let’s imagine
this conversation from her perspective for just a moment. Here is this young Jewish girl who we know is
faithful to God. She is engaged to be
married, but she has not ever engaged in sexual relations. It is physically impossible for her to be
pregnant, yet Gabriel tells her that she is in fact going to conceive a
son. She must have been mystified, and
perhaps happy that she had been chosen. But
her son is not just any baby—this baby will be the true Son of God, a holy
child. What in the world must she have
been thinking? Feeling? I’m guessing
fear might have been at the top of her list, along with anxiety, trepidation,
elation, wonder, and a host of others.
But let’s talk about fear for a moment.
Even when parents plan to have children, learning of the pregnancy
triggers fears about preparations and parenthood. But beyond that, she must have been scared
about how in the world she would explain this to her fiancée? What fiancée would believe that his
soon-to-be wife had been faithful, yet she’s pregnant? Even if he accepted her story, how could he
ever be adequate enough to raise a holy child?
And Mary must have felt the same way.
How could she possibly bear the responsibility of not only keeping safe
God’s Child, but also of raising this holy child to be the Savior of the world? But despite her fears, or maybe because of
those fears, Mary said “yes.” Would you
have said “yes”? When faced with fear,
we can either submit to it and be paralyzed by it, or we can conquer it through
faith in God. The truth is, each day God
presents us with opportunities to give life to His Miracles. We only have to listen and say “yes” to be
part of His perfect plan for this world.
Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, give thanks for
Mary’s willing spirit to face her fears as God’s servant. Praise God for the opportunity to serve Him
and the grace and patience He shows for us as we face our fears. Rejoice in the daily miracles God works
through you. Pray for a willing spirit,
like Mary’s, to courageously say “yes” when God calls.
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