Oh Mary. Sigh. My heart goes out to that woman. What she must’ve gone through, how she must’ve felt.
I close my eyes and try to imagine what it must’ve been like.
I imagine the range of emotions she must’ve felt after the angel came to her and told her that she would conceive and give birth to the Son of God.
I imagine how difficult it must’ve been when she told Joseph. They were still only betrothed to each other, not even married.
I’m sure she worried that he would leave her, that she may never be able to marry, and that she may be seen as unclean, like a prostitute, and she would be an unwed mother. How would she do this on her own?
I’m sure she wondered how this could possibly be part of God’s plan.
Sometimes when God tells us to do something, it doesn’t make sense. After all, it’s not the way we would choose to do it.
Sometimes God reveals His plan to us, and not to others. He just expects us to trust and obey Him, entrusting the details to Him.
And this is what Mary did. In faith she replied to God’s messenger, “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Luke 1:38
It’s easy to say we trust God, but when we’re actually put to the test, will be able to stand? Will we be able to hand it all over to God?
God gets to work right away. He is faithful to us. He doesn’t just ask us to do something and then make us figure it out on our own.
First, God eased the conflict with Joseph. He wasn’t sure he could believe Mary, and even if he did believe her, he wasn’t sure he wanted to go along for this ride.
One evening, an angel appeared to a reluctant Joseph in a dream. The angel confirmed what Mary had said was true, comforted Joseph, and instructed him to name the child Jesus.
“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20-21
Then, Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, and the warm welcome she and her unborn child received confirmed even more so that God’s plan would be carried out in her, and she was able to see it as a blessing.
“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1:45
I wonder if Mary ever questioned why God chose her, and not some other girl, to be the one to help carry out His plan.
Even when we’re following God’s word and listening to His instructions, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and question Him. I find myself asking God, “Why me?”
God chose Mary because of her pure and willing heart. He had found favor with her.
Yet, I imagine, in the lonely, quiet hours of the night, Mary lay in her bed, pondering everything that was happening and what was still to come.
Surely, she knew what the Scriptures said about the Messiah.
Surely, Mary knew her unborn child, that she growing more and more in love the more her tummy grew, was the same one that the Prophet Isaiah wrote about, the one who would be despised and rejected, who would be beaten and bruised, who would die a brutal, criminal’s death.
Yet, she remembered God’s promises, and she felt humbled and blessed to be part of God’s plan.
After she returned from her trip, and her and Joseph were wed, more prophecies were about to be fulfilled. It was only just the beginning of her journey.
When God calls us to follow Him, He needs us to trust Him, and when things seem uncertain, He expects us to keep trusting Him.
God is about to do something big, and all that He expects of us is that we let Him handle the details.
We have so much to learn from Mary. A young woman given an important task. Being the mother of the Messiah wasn’t glorious, as one may expect, but it was a necessary part of fulfilling God’s plan.
God calls on us when we least expect it to trust Him to use us to accomplish great things for His Kingdom.
Rather than questioning, why me, let us, instead, trust that God’s plan is greater than anything we could imagine. If God speaks to us, just know He’s about to do something big. When God choose us to be a part of His plan, remember it is because He has found favor with you, and He knows you can handle it.
Join me tomorrow as we continue to put ourselves in Mary’s shoes.
To follow the whole series of Journey to Christmas, click here: https://jenniferjabbour.com/the-journey-to-christmas-advent-series/
What do you think?