Tuesday, December 22, 2009

“I am the Lords servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Luke 1:38 (NIV)

Throughout the Bible, God chooses and uses the most unlikely people in the most extraordinary ways to fulfill His timing and perfect will…Mary, the mother of Jesus, is no exception.

Mary’s story is well known. I’ve read it many times through past Christmas seasons, but this year God revealed to me “with new freshness” the importance of Mary’s willing spirit and trust in God.

Mary was a humble young woman willing to say yes to God, no matter what the cost, so that HIS plans and purpose could come to pass…

I’m sure Mary didn’t realize what she had signed up for—perceived scandal, ridicule, potential death by stoning, and ultimately a mother’s shattered heart at the loss of her precious child. None the less, she gave God her willing spirit and trust…“one Yes at a time”.

A key lesson we should learn and remember from Mary’s life is that great things always begin with someone saying Yes to God, and then moving along one yes at a time. The road may be bumpy, but we must remember God’s intention is to bless us.

A second lesson is to trust God. Mary trusted God from the start. She simply asked Gabriel, “How will this be?” Her question was an innocent inquiry of how God would make it come to pass. She didn’t doubt or ask for proof like Zachariah did when the angel told him that Elizabeth was to conceive in her old age…

“For nothing is impossible with God.”

“If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land.” Isaiah 1:19

Please Lord; help me to say “Yes” to you without asking why, where, and how. “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10) …a trusting, obedient, and willing spirit.

Merry Christmas,

~Jeannie Porterfield

This devotion was revealed and adapted from the book: Having a Mary Spirit—Allowing God to Change us from the Inside by Joanna Weaver.