And the angel came in unto her, and said,
Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee:
blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying,
and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary:
for thou hast found favour with God.
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb,
and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
Luke 1:28-31
Jesus' mother Mary faced the ultimate act of courage head on. Can
you imagine being approached by an angel, and then given a message that is beyond difficult to comprehend. I think you can read a lot into Mary's response by what she didn't say. Young Mary merely asked:
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be,
seeing I know not a man? Luke 1:38and the angel responded:
And
the angel answered and said unto her,
The Holy Ghost shall come upon
thee,
and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:
therefore also
that holy thing which shall be born of thee
shall be called the Son of
God.
And,
behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived
a son in her old
age: and this is the sixth month with her,
who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Luke 1:35-37
Now, that's a serious piece of news, all at once.
One of those messages alone would create a shock factor.
A visit by an angel
the fact that Mary is told she is highly favored by the Lord
her barren cousin Elisabeth, well on in years was going to have a child as well
and that she, an unmarried Virgin, will conceive and give birth to the Savior of the world.
Can you just imagine the thoughts swirling around her young mind. She faced not only public ridicule and shame, but death by stoning. Mary's faith was SO strong, and she trusted her Lord SO completely her response to this news was this:
And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord;
be it unto me according to thy word.
And the angel departed from her.
Luke 1:38
In other words, Mary said, let it be unto me as you have said. She accepted what God had given her. Why? Because she knew the promise of God's words to her:
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the
Lord,
plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to
give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
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Angels descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
~ Hymn Blessed Assurance
~
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This verse promises us that God knows YOUR future as well, and He promises that His plans are not to hurt you but to help you. Please join me through this Christmas season by using Mary's faith as an example of perseverance through your own personal trials.
Have a blessed Christmas season. This post is linked to: Walking Redeemed Fellowship Fridays
What Joy is
Mine, Hearts for Home
Thursday, Encourage One
Another,
Word Art
Wednesday,
A Sheltering Tree
.