As a woman, I often find myself drawn to the stories of women in the Bible. Through some I am inspired by reading about their strength and courage; through others I find myself relating to their brokenness and need for God. One such Biblical encounter that challenges me is when the angel visits Mary the mother of Jesus. (The most detailed description can be found in Luke 1:26-38.)
Mary was a young lady engaged to a reputable man named Joseph. She was going about her day when she suddenly found herself standing before an angel-the angel Gabriel, to be specific. He greets her with the words, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
Finding this to be an unusually strange encounter, she is troubled by his words.
“Do not be afraid”, he responds. He went on to tell her that she was going to give birth to a Son. He described this child as the Son of the Highest; the Holy One. He was going to be given the throne of His father David and would reign over the house of Jacob forever.
In short, she was going to be giving birth to the Messiah; the One her people had been waiting for for thousands of years. She was to raise the Savior that so many prophets had foretold. A few minutes before she had simply been a young, engaged woman; now she was being told that she would soon become pregnant with the Son of God.
I can only imagine that had I been in this scenario, I’d be extremely overwhelmed. When I picture myself in her position, I am flooded with thoughts of doubt. “Did the angel come to the right address? Does he actually know who I am? Does he realize how unqualified I am for this? Sure- I love children! But I have no idea how to raise a king!”
Yet, this is not how Mary responded. She simply asks how this would be possible. At this point she had not even known a man. It turns out that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and His power would overshadow her. Even the conception of this baby would be supernatural. This child would be the Son of God Himself. The angel goes on to encourage her by sharing the news that her older cousin who had been barren was miraculously pregnant as well. Gabriel then closes with the sentence, “For with God nothing will be impossible”.
She responds in total humility, “Behold, the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”
How could she hear such a life-changing message from an angel who just appeared to her and reply with such confidence?
I believe Mary responded in this way because she knew Who was asking this of her. Her faith wasn’t placed in her capabilities to “answer the call”. Her faith wasn’t placed in herself at all. She didn’t need to be qualified or prepared; she didn’t need to take a year to pray about it. She simply needed to surrender and be obedient. She placed her confidence fully in the God who does the impossible.
I don’t believe she felt qualified. I don’t think she fully understood how everything would come together. But she trusted God. She knew that He was worthy of what He was asking. She believed that everything He said would come to pass. If this was His will, let it be done.
When our eyes are truly fixed on God; when we abide in Him and Him in us (as Jesus commands in John 15), we are not focused on ourselves and our own talents. When we really know God, it becomes our honor to say yes to Him because we love Him. We obey with confidence, laying down our lives daily because He is worthy.
Mary’s call from God was a life altering moment, but it led to many ordinary days of practically living it out. One day she’s visited by an angel who tells her she is highly favored and will raise the Son of the Highest. It’s the biggest honor and a massive responsibility.
But consider what that looked like for her in her day-to-day life. One year after this angelic visit she would have been waking up several times a night to feed her baby. She would be changing diapers and cleaning up after Him. As Jesus continued to grow, she was making His lunch and washing His laundry. She had other responsibilities and other children to raise. She made mistakes and learned from them just like every other mom.
Sometimes we receive instructions from God that seem daunting and are impossible without divine intervention. It takes radical faith to say “yes”. However, living out that obedience is often far from glamorous. It can feel very mundane and ordinary. But this doesn’t make our obedience any less valuable.
There will be moments where God will ask us to make sacrifices that are extremely difficult or require a lot of faith; maybe leaving a job, ending a relationship, believing for a miracle and praying until it happens. It could be leaving all that you’ve ever known and moving to another nation for the sake of the Gospel.
But there will also be many days where God asks us to speak to the person in front of us, to pay for someone’s groceries, to slow down and take more time with our families. To be patient when we feel like He’s made a promise, and it looks like nothing is happening. To continue in the day-to-day trusting Him and being so thankful to honor Him even in the little things.
As we seek to continue to obey Jesus by making disciples, let us be encouraged that there is grace to trust God for the impossible as well as to continue to obey Him in the ordinary. He uses unlikely people to bring Him glory. We simply must have a heart ready to respond to Him saying, “Let it be according to Your word.”
About the Author - Jilian, a family member of Global Catalytic Ministries and Maranatha Collective.
Be the Underground Church
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