34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. Luke 1: 34-38 NIV
Mary received the message from the angel and the Holy Spirit caused her to become pregnant with Jesus. Does that statement stretch your faith a little? It should. How did God do this? Why did he choose Mary? There are many who stumble at this point in trying to understand the Christian faith. This information immediately makes Jesus different than any other person ever born on earth. He was fully God and fully man.
You do realize that God works in and through your life with the same principles. What can we glean from the passage that would help us position ourselves to respond to God’s desire to minister in our lives in a similar way that He did for Mary?
1. Mary understood her limitation. She was a virgin and could not become pregnant. Our starting point is the understanding of who we are. Moses thought he was disqualified because he had committed murder and he could not talk very well- which is kinda important if you are supposed to tell Pharaoh “let God’s people go”. Gideon felt like he was the least of leaders coming from the least of the tribes – yet he won his battle with the fewest of leaders. Isaiah saw the destruction of his tongue and lived among people who were unclean because of the words of death, pride and lack of faith – yet God touched his tongue first. Isaiah has left one of the longest recorded books in the Bible.
What do you perceive as the main road block that God would have to overcome to let his life be fully realized in your life? Is it a dysfunctional family upbringing that left emotional scares? Are you afraid to speak to strangers? God wants to start using you for His purposes…what is your excuse? It is not too big for God.
2. It is God’s power that will perform His work in you. Sometimes you may think you need just a little more help, a little more money, or a little break through. God is more than just a little more of anything. When He speaks he is fully able and committed to performing what He has spoken. Only God could place Jesus inside of Mary. It is important to acknowledge that God is the one who will do the work. Samson had no physical attributes that revealed the power of God in his life….you and I look a whole lot like Samson. Trust God’s word and Holy Spirit to perform through you what God desires. Speak boldly. Witness to your neighbor or co-worker. Pray for the sick to be healed. Forgive those who have hurt you. All of these require God’s power to help us fulfill His leading.
3. Receive encouragement – God is already at work. The angel encouraged Mary about her miracle by sharing that Elizabeth had already received a miracle. The one who was told that she was too old to EVER have a child was now six months pregnant. When God asks to do something new in your life…look around for some encouragement. Can you find some scriptural examples of God asking someone to do something similar? Have you heard a story recently of someone fulfilling the same example? Did you hear someone pray for the sick and they were healed? Go to talk with them and ask how did they do it. God is at work and testimonies encourage us to receive from the Lord.
4. Finally, Mary voiced her readiness. “Be it unto me, as you have spoken”. Faith does not require that you have all of the information from beginning to end about the circumstance to which you are contemplating. In fact, many times you may only have the impression that you receive from the Holy Spirit. But the first response of faith that helps us move in the right direction is “speaking it aloud”.
Jesus asked the one man, “Do you believe?” He responded, “ I believe, help my unbelief.” Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. When we speak the impression of the Holy Spirit, we are aligning ourselves with the “word” of God. I understand the conflict of trying to separate God speaking to us and our own thoughts. But faith begins by our responding to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Trust that He is the one speaking and say what He is saying aloud. It will encourage you…trust me. It helps us begin to discern how the Holy Spirit leads us in our lives.
May you be just like Mary, and have a heart ready to do His will. Looking forward to seeing Jesus be made great in your life.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for commenting. I hope that your are blessed in your pursuit to know Jesus more.