As a woman, I love a good strong woman story where the woman is the main character and she shows heart, grit, and purpose. And when you add faith into the mix, it’s just even more admirable. A woman who reflects this is Mary. Mary, the mother of Jesus, as we all know gave birth to Jesus as a virgin. As impossible as this is, we know that with God all things are possible. And even if Mary questioned the angel who appeared to her, she surrendered and she says “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; May it be fine to me according to your word.”
However, there is much more before Mary came face to face with the angel. This same angel appeared to Zachariah and because of his doubt of his wife getting pregnant, his voice was taken away from him. Elizabeth, though, was over the top about the news of being pregnant despite her barren age! What a way to rejoice and trust in the word of the Lord. And not only that, when Mary arrived to visit with Jesus in her womb, Elizabeth rejoiced as well! This is when Mary responds to Elizabeth with the Song of Mary or Mary’s Magnificat.
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.”
I am not sure how much it took for Mary to have this kind of faith where she can say her soul magnifies Him and rejoices in Him. She looked ahead knowing who God was and knowing the result of her being called for such an opportunity as this. I’m sure Mary would have wanted to be married first before getting pregnant, but to completely surrender to the Lord when given this news is amazing because if that were me in the past, I probably would have responded like Zachariah. As a science teacher, I would say it is just physiologically impossible, but what does Jesus say in Matthew 19:26? “With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.”
By the grace of God, I can confidently say that I have the same kind of faith as Mary. I am not trying to boast in any way because the struggle to trust in Him can happen and it still does. And when I do struggle, God always asks me the same question, “who do you know me to be?” I reflect on the journey that the Lord has brought me through, I know that my faith is because of God’s grace for me, ultimately due to His work on the cross, but also for not giving up on me. He reminds me of the times He has shown His faithfulness and has proven He is trustworthy. Already, God has called me to places and positions I never thought I would be in. Whether Mary has gone through different and many hardships or not, what fueled her faith to trust what the angel said is because of who she knows God to be. And if he were to place a new purpose in front of me, even if it’s not something I have been praying for for a very long time, my hope and prayer is that I also say “may it be according to Your word” and “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoice in God my Savior.”
Amen and Amen. There may be some of you that want this kind of faith as well. As much as you try, you feel like its hopeless. You keep getting angry with God or you feel so far away from Him and He just isn’t showing up. I have felt this way as well. But the truth is that He does care, He is close, and He is working (even in silence). A small spark can fuel a fire — meaning, the smallest amount of faith can grow into a larger one. It takes time, but most of all it takes prayer and knowing God. This Christmas, as we await celebrating the birth-day of our Savior, let’s remember why He came — which was to give us salvation only through faith in Him. When we remember this, we will respond in the same way as Mary.
with Jesus’ love,
Jeremae