For with God nothing will be impossible.” Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:37-38 NKJV
There are a lot of Mary’s listed in the Bible, but the one we know the best is Mary the mother of Jesus. Humanly speaking, she is where the story of Easter begins. (That’s right I didn’t say Christmas!) Of course, I believe that Jesus existed in Heaven with the Father since before the beginning of time. But the earthly life of Jesus began with a young lady whose neighbors might have referred to her as Mary of Nazareth. Mary was sweet and innocent, though just as in need of a Savior as you and I. Yet of all the people God had to choose from, He chose Mary, because He knew that she more than anyone would be prepared to say “Yes!” when she heard of His audacious plan.
Easter is about Jesus rising from the dead and about a new chance in life for us. But for us to take that journey from old to new and death to life we all must begin where Mary began when she asked, “How can this be?” God’s answer for Mary is in some ways the same as His answer for us. Are we willing for Jesus to be born in us? Is His will more precious to us than the opinions of people, who may never understand His plan? God isn’t angry when we ask sincere questions as Mary did. In fact, most of the greatest answers ever came for her that day. “Nothing is impossible for God!” Answering God’s call won’t make us perfect. That won’t come until our final destination in heaven. But all along the way, God will be helping our faith to grow and our roots to deepen. Are you ready to start the journey towards Easter this year with Mary’s answer? “Let it be to me according to Your word!” Once we begin to follow the Savior, we may not know what the pathway may lead, but we can know that He will be with us every step of the way!
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Your post reminds me there’s an acceptable way to question God and an unacceptable one. Zachariah, the priest—future father to John the Baptist—asked his own version of, “How can this be?” to the visiting angel, but his question brought a different result. I love Mary’s prayer: 🙏 “Let it be to me according to your word.” I want to make this my prayer as well.
I thought about that, too, David. It’s reassuring to know that while people may misunderstand our motives for asking questions or speaking the way we do, that the Lord knows our hearts, even when our prayers are awkward and not very eloquent.
I have often wondered about the difference too. Mary however had the extra mile to go in that this had never ever happened before and she was barely a teenager.
And Ole Zach had been a priest for quite a while. Apparently, the Lord thought he should have known better.😳
“Let it be to me according to Your word!” Possibly the best prayer ever.
Mary also spoke some of the best advice ever when the wine ran out at the wedding at Cana. She said to the servants, “Do whatever he [Jesus] tells you.” She did have a way of getting to the point.
Yes Jesus surprised her all through His life and she had learned to trust along the way even when she didn’t understand.
Pastor Pete, this is an excellent devotional and one I needed to be reminded of. I love discovering the short faithful faithful “question” prayers in Scripture. They illustrate how we [mortals] are so much alike and reveal the childlike innocence of faith through their authentic questions.