Mary did you know?

Luke 1:34-38: “Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ 35 And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.’ 38 Then Mary said, ‘Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.”

Mary was a willing servant of the Lord. The angel Gabriel came to her with a startling message that she would be the Mother of the Christ, the Messiah. It was a message that no young woman would be prepared for. There were the prophecies and the traditions that were handed down from generation to generation, the stories that mothers tell their daughters; but to think they would be chosen was astonishing. I can just imagine what was going through her mind; “is this real? Could this be happing to me? Who am I that I should be bestowed with this awesome gift?” What ever went through her mind, she surrendered to the Lord’s will.

God used Mary because she had a surrendered heart. No, she did not have everything figured out and she may not have understood the impact of the situation. Yet in all of that, she said yes to God. God would not have forced her to do something that she was not willing to do. God gives us a free will, a choice, whether we will be used by God, is ultimately up to us. God will give us opportunities to do big things for Jesus, but we must have a surrendered heart as Mary had. We will not always have things figured out, but we do not need too! God takes care of that. We need to have an attitude where we no longer think of ourselves, but rather “deny ourselves” (Luke 9:23), for it is in this attitude where we get true freedom.

We are slaves to our own lusts and desires. When we truly want freedom, we stop living for ourselves, and start living for God. Once I do that all other aspects will fall in line, my relationships, marriage, career, and service to the Lord will take on a new and fresh perspective. It is through surrendering that Mary received her true blessing.