"Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to Your word."
Luke 1:38 NKJV
Mary had just had an encounter with the Angel Gabriel, who told her that she was highly favoured of God and had been chosen to give birth to a child via the Holy Spirit, and she was to name Him Jesus.
Try and imagine what this may have felt like. Not just an angel but, the angel Gabriel coming to visit you and then to declare that you are highly favoured by God Himself and you were going to give birth to a child, called Jesus. It must have been mind-blowing. She was only young, was a virgin and unmarried, although she was betrothed to a man called Joseph.
Mary, after questioning Gabriel about how this could happen as she was a virgin, began to accept what she was being told, especially after Gabriel had told her that 'with God nothing will be impossible.' And this is the bottom line. Everything is possible when God has told you about a part of your life. He cannot lie and will bring it about at some stage.
Note what Mary said, 'Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to Your word.' This was a double-barrelled response. Firstly, she told the angel that she totally belonged to God. He was her Lord and she gave Him the first place in her life. Secondly, she said, 'Let it be to me according to Your word.' She was saying whatever Lord, whatever you ask, I will do it because I belong to You. You have the first place in my life. This very much reminds us of the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:10 'Your will be done.'
Whenever God calls us out for a special assignment, there is always a cost. We have to give up certain things; family may disagree with what you may be doing and it may drive a wedge between you. Finance may not come on a regular basis such as does with a weekly wage and you may not be very popular. Mary had to face all of this in a very short time. She was unwed, a virgin, now to be told that she would be pregnant would cause a great scandal and she may face death because of accusations of adultery. If not death, she could be an outcast. However, God had more plans. Mary would not suffer scandal as, God had prepared Joseph's heart while he slept, telling him that it was God's will and the baby was from the Holy Spirit and they were wed. God is a great planner.
Mary's words were basically, 'Whatever Lord, I don’t will do it.' That is called commitment. Can you honestly say the the same? Would you be able to say to God, 'Your will be done'. If God were to call you out to do something very important for Him, could He rely on you? Isn't that what giving our lives to Him means? When we ask Him into our hearts, are we not saying, 'Whatever Lord I will do it - Your will be done.' Think about that as you go through your day. If we asked Jesus to come into our life, then He has the first call on it.
Now that really is food for thought!
Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard
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