Blessed of Women



Prayer: Dear Holy Spirit, please enter into this time of devotion and meditation. Bring Your Word to life as I read what You have for me today. Bring inspiration, insight, and depth of understanding to my mind and strength to my faith as I think about Your great love for us. Make the story of Jesus' birth real for me and help me to grasp the importance of this story for my life. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen. 

Read: Luke 1:26–38 

Think about It: In Mary, the mother of Jesus, we find the human component to Jesus' make-up. While He was True God, He was also True Man and that humanity comes through Mary's DNA. This is a  remarkable part of God's truth for us. While other religions have the "gods" mingling with humanity, none of them embrace the human   experience in such a dramatic way. Jesus actually became one of us!

When Mary learns that she has been chosen as the mother of the Savior, she is naturally surprised, but incredibly accepting. She doesn't ask "why me" or complain to The Lord that this is going to be a hardship for her. No, she asks how it will happen and then submits herself entirely into the hands of God. What a remarkable example of faith she become for us in that moment. Her trust in The Lord to take care of her shines through the Christmas story as something unique and admirable.

When God chooses us to fulfill His will here on earth, what is our response? Most likely we complain and ask Him to pick someone else. Those negative responses come from that place in us that needs to be in control and we immediately begin to look to our own resources to make it happen. That's why we want to complain - for we generally don't possess the resources we need to meet God's will. As we grapple with that reality we panic. "Please God pick someone more qualified, okay?"

The other response is that we can bow the knee and ask God how we can serve Him in the way He asks. In doing this we have to fall on our face, submit to God's will and recognize that He's going to have to provide everything we need to meet His desires. This was what Mary quietly did as she said "May it be to me as You have spoken." These are remarkable words and ones that we can learn to say to a God we can trust. 

Prayer: Dear Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is so interesting that Your plan demanded that You become one of Your creatures! What a startling way for You to work out Your plan for my salvation. I am grateful that You have experienced this human life, for I know that You can relate to everything that happens to me. Please help me to remember that You have done this for me and that I can always share my life with You for You understand it all. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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