Mary

None of us know what the future holds, but we do know that whatever is forthcoming will require living in faith. ~Elizabeth George

I have recently begun a journey through the devotional "Nurturing a Heart of Humility" by Elizabeth George. This particular study is about Mary the mother of Jesus. I originally picked up this study because I thought, "Lord, I need more humility in my life." I know we all have our prideful moments and God has definitely been teaching me about humility but He has taught me more than I ever thought He would.

Sometimes we have a way of saying, "I know this needs to be fixed, so Lord, through this Bible study I give you permission to fix it." When in reality He says, "There is something we need to work through instead, but I will use what you "think" you need to show you what you REALLY need." I guess that was my first lesson in humility! ;-)

The thing that has struck me the most about Mary through this study is her obedience. When the angel came to her and told her she would be with child, she asked "How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" I don't think she questioned that it would happen she just didn't understand how it would happen. After she was told the Holy Spirit would come upon her she said, "be it unto me according to thy word."

Now, I don't know about you, but if an angel showed up (1) to tell me I was pregnant (2) when I had never known a man (3) I may have asked for a sign. I think this really shows the maturity of this young girl. She was 14 or 15 years old yet she show the maturity of an old saint. How I desire to have that kind of faith. Everywhere we read about Mary in the first 2 chapters of Luke she is obey quickly and without question or complaining. When Joseph said, "We're moving to Egypt." They went. Immediate obedience. I think that if Mary had complained or not believed she would not have been Jesus' mother. I think it is funny that Mary didn't have to "pray about" becoming the mother of the Messiah. She knew what she had been called to do and she did it.

God had called Mary to what seemed impossible, but He knew that she had the faith that would be required to raise His Son. 33 1/2 years later she would watch as her Son hung on the cross for the sins of those who had spit in His face and beat him beyond recognition. How she must have felt that day will have to wait for another blog posting. The point is she did the work of the Lord knowing what the end result would be. She was an educated woman. She knew the Scriptures. She knew what would happen to the Messiah and she knew her baby was this Messiah.

Blind faith. That is all you can call it. I wonder everyday if I have what it takes to follow through on this journey of adoption that God has called us to. Like Mary, I can say "How can this be, when we don't have $45,000 to pay for it." I can believe in the promise that it WILL happen. I can say "be it unto me according to thy word." I don't know what will happen, but I pray that I have the faith of Mary to live whatever lies ahead of me.