Put yourself in the shoes of this teenage girl. She has just received news that will forever change her life and forever change the history of the world. She, a virgin teenager, is going to give birth to the Son of God. The announcement came from the angel Gabriel, who had given astonishing news to Mary’s relative, Elizabeth, just a few months before. God was on the move, and He was about to do something BIG!
She had questions. In Luke 1:34, she asked God, “How?” “How in the world is this going to happen? I’m a virgin. I’ve never been intimate with a man. I am pledged to be married to Joseph. What will my parents think? What will my friends think? What will society think? What will Joseph think?” Those questions and more must have been swirling around in her head. Scripture indicates she was perplexed and agitated (Luke 1:29) when the angel first appeared. Imagine what she must have been feeling after the announcement!
After the angel answered her question and revealed to her that Christ would have no earthly father…and after the angel revealed that God had miraculously intervened in Elizabeth’s life…and after the angel reminded her that NOTHING was impossible with God (Luke 1:35-37) she finally speaks again. Her response is the response all of us should have concerning God’s will, but unfortunately many of us do not. She simply said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; LET IT BE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD” (emphasis mine).
What a difference it would make in our lives if we humbly and genuinely approached God’s will and God’s Word the way Mary did!
- Let me think on the appropriate things, according to YOUR Word!
- Let me renew my mind, according to YOUR Word!
- Let me walk in the Spirit, according to YOUR Word!
- Let me live in YOUR freedom, according to YOUR Word!
- Let the Truth set me free, according to YOUR Word!
- Let me follow the greatest commandment, according YOUR Word!
- Let me love my neighbor as myself, according to YOUR Word!
- Let me train up my children, according to YOUR Word!
- Let me love my spouse, according to YOUR Word!
- Let me give, according to YOUR Word!
- Let me be changed into a new creation, according to YOUR Word!
- Let me ______________________, according to YOUR Word!
God was calling Mary to leave her comfort zone, suffer a potentially devastating misunderstanding and ridicule, and eventually watch her precious Son give His life for the sins of the world . . . and she simply surrenders it all to God and says, “OK Lord, may YOUR will be accomplished in and through my life, according to YOUR Word. I’ll be a willing vessel!”
How about YOU? The question is not, “What would you do if you were in Mary’s shoes?” The question is, “What are YOU doing RIGHT NOW with God’s revealed will?”
The statement, “No Lord” is an oxymoron. The only right answer to give is, “Yes Lord.” The songwriter said, “Yes, Lord, yes, to Your will and to Your way, yes, Lord, yes, I will trust You and obey. When Your Spirit speaks to me, with my whole heart I’ll agree, and my answer will be yes, Lord, yes.”
alightinerie 