By Mark Proctor
Pastor, Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia
Focal Passage: Luke 1:26-38
Twenty years ago, on the same week God called me from the engineering business into the ministry, my wife delivered another announcement: we were expecting our third child. I was terrified — a career change and an unexpectedly expanding family. At once, natural, human emotions threatened to eclipse the sovereignty of God. That balance is the struggle that makes up the fabric of every human soul. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was no exception.
Luke reports in this extraordinary passage three human reactions Mary had to God’s greatest announcement: her fear (Luke 1:29), her fragility (v. 34), and her final submission (v. 38). Henry Blackaby teaches in Experiencing God that when God gets ready to do something, He looks for men and women who are willing to join Him in that work. Mary was willing to join God in His work but not until her human fear and fragility gave way to the will of the Father.
First, Mary responds to the announcement. The angel says nothing more to her than “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” And Mary’s response, like ours would be, is to “discern what sort of greeting this would be” (v. 29). Note the absence of prayer. She tries to figure it out in her heart. And the result is fear — she was greatly troubled. That’s what happens when we try to unravel God’s plans without the aid of the Almighty. But note Gabriel’s response: “Don’t be troubled, God favors you.” What assurance! God’s children have no reason to dwell on a troubled heart.
God favored Mary so He gave her the details. “You will conceive … and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus” (v. 31). Mary immediately experienced the next emotion we all face. She tried to reconcile that with her own resources and found herself fragile and lacking. This is the kind of person God uses, one who is fearful and fragile. It’s why Paul told the Corinthian church that Christ’s power is made perfect in weakness (II Corinthians 12:9).
And use Mary He did. Mary finally submitted to God, in spite of her fear and in spite of her fragility. “Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). What a beautiful testimony. What if each of us could say the same thing? “God, in spite of my fearful heart, in spite of my own fragile resources, let it be to me.”
What would God have for your class or your church in 2017? And what if He sent an angel to tell you the details and tell you that you are a favored child? Friends, He has indeed done such a thing. You are joint heirs of glory with Jesus sent from the Father (Romans 8:17). The details of our lives find their success not in our bravery or resources but in our willingness to become obedient to the Father’s will for our lives. Let it be to me!
