Luke 1:26-38

Be Still: Jesus, as I enter this time with you, please still my busy brain and help me to focus on you and your presence. Amen

Read: Luke 1:26-38

‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’. 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 the Son of God. (v34-35 NIV)

Encounter: Yesterday we looked at a passage in Luke 1 where the Angel Gabriel brings a message about a baby, and today we’re looking at a passage in Luke 1 where the Angel Gabriel brings a message about a baby!

When someone tells me an idea or a plan, my immediate thought is ‘OK - how is that going to work?’. I find it hard to go along with a wild idea if I can’t see how it’s going to work out logistically. I love practicalities and details and logistics and knowing how things work. 

And in today’s passage, I love that Mary is (I like to think) wired in a similar way. When the Angel Gabriel tells her, ‘You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.’ her response is ‘How will this be … since I am a virgin?

While Zechariah wants to know how he could be sure it would happen, Mary wants to know the way it will happen. Where Zechariah responds in doubt, Mary responds with curiosity. Having faith in God and his plans doesn’t mean that we must blindly go along with things or follow like robots. Zechariah and Mary show us what it looks like to bring questions to God, and his kind response.

Apply: After the angel’s explanation, Mary’s next statement speaks to the depth of her faith and obedience. She simply says, ‘I am the Lord’s servant … may your word to me be fulfilled’. Mary shows us what it looks like to trust and not necessarily understand. If I’d been told this news, I’d have had a thousand and one questions, and I’m sure Mary did too, and yet she chooses to trust. Are there any areas of your life where you need to surrender understanding and logistics, and choose obedience and trust?

Devote: Lord, just as Mary prayed ‘I am your servant - may your word to me be fulfilled’, help me to relinquish my need for control and understanding, and instead be your surrendered servant.