"Greetings favored woman, the Lord is with you," that's what the angel said. The next line in my Bible translation says, "confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean." Luke 1:29 After all, she was probably a teenager, and that was pretty disturbing news! She asks "how can this happen?" and the angel describes cryptically, how "the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most High will overshadow you." That sounds a little scary to me! At that point I might have declined the great honor. She would have to bear the shame of telling her fiance' she was pregnant, and who knows if her parents or her neighbors would believe her. But Mary responds with "I am the Lord's servant, May everything you have said about me come true." Wow, a gusty girl! In effect she says, sure, I'm game for whatever your plan is for me. Let's do this God! "A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country" She ran over to Elizabeth's house because that she knew she'd understand! Elizabeth says to her, "You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said." She then writes down her song of praise (luke 1:47-55) which is all about believing in God's promises, and God's goodness. This girl knew God, and trusted Him fully NO MATTER WHAT! God is merciful that He also sent an angel to explain to Joseph, because Joe needed a heavenly explanation! He, like many others, had originally assumed the worst about Mary. This is what we know about Joseph: He was a righteous man, he was considerate of Mary, and obedient to the Lord! Apparently, Joseph was a dreamer! In the book of Matthew God speaks to Joe in a dream 4 different times to let him know the plan. It was a brave thing for Joseph, to marry someone carrying another's child. He must have been teased about it by his friends. He had to be strong to absorb the shame others projected, and still hold fast and believe in what he had seen in his dreams! What a couple these two must have been! I can imagine so many hard conversations between them! What kept them together was how both of them loved God and put Him first. I want to be like these two, fully trusting God with whatever His plan is for me; even if it is scary, even if other people aren't going to understand. |
Have you ever had God tell you to do something that seemed crazy at the time? (build an ark, or buy a house, move, etc.) Did you do it? Afterward, did you get a glimpse of the reason or the bigger plan? I'd love to hear about it below!
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AuthorDeborah King, ARTIST! Categories
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February 2024
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