Gabriel appeared to her (Mary) and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” (Excerpts Luke 1)
My husband and I had the wait-five-years-to-have-a-baby plan when we got married. Then….We’re having a baby! A month after our second anniversary, we found out we were pregnant. After the initial shock wore off, we were totally excited! We celebrated. We told all of our family and friends. Everyone celebrated with us. It was big news. A baby is always big news!
I’m not sure what Mary was doing when the angel came to her with his big news. She may have been washing the dishes or cleaning the house. But I’m sure she dropped everything immediately. “Say what?” She may even have looked around the room to make sure he wasn’t talking to someone else! “I’m having a what?”
She was probably completely taken off guard, and I’m sure her mind was reeling with questions. “Ummm….my mom talked to me about this, and I’m pretty sure this can’t happen without a man. Do you have a plan for this? How is this going to work?”
The angel patiently answered her questions, and I’m sure she still didn’t completely understand. I mean, who would? What he was telling her had never been heard of before. The Holy Spirit would come upon her? The power of the Most High would what? She would give birth to the Who? She was highly favored of God?
The angel’s explanation probably made little to no sense to her mind. But I LOVE her response. “Okay. I don’t know how. I don’t know what all this means. But I trust You. Let it be done unto me according to Your Word.”
And what trust that answer truly took for Mary. What should have been an announcement of joy for her, the announcement of a pregnancy and a baby, would likely be an announcement of shame. Really…who would believe it was God’s baby? What should have been a badge of honor for her, having a baby boy, would now bring disgrace and look like an act of unfaithfulness and sin. She was highly favored of God, but man’s perspective of her would be quite different. And yet she still said yes.
I am so thankful she said yes. I’m so glad she didn’t let what it looked like hold her back from this miracle. Because she said yes and trusted God, Jesus was born. And where would we be without Him? I don’t know about you, but I’d be a hot mess!
God still wants to do miracles today. He wants to do miracles in us and for us and through us. And He is looking for a people who are willing to be confused and still say yes anyway. He is looking for someone who can look beyond what it looks like to what His plan is and be the vessel of a miracle. It’s okay to let go of our need to understand and have every detail. Let’s trust and see what God can do!
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
I would love to hear of any miracles God has done for you. It is so encouraging to hear testimonies, and there is power in the telling. There’s power to encourage our faith and help give us the strength to hold on until faith is made sight. If you have a story of YOUR miracle…please feel free to comment. We’re all ears! 🙂