Mary. From the moment when Gabriel first appeared to Mary with the news that she would have a son, Mary believed the impossible. Her response to Gabriel in Luke 1:38, “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”, reveals both her faith in God and her resolve to serve God.
There is so much I can learn from Mary. She accepted the message Gabriel gave to her, a message that had the potential to cost Mary her engagement to Joseph or to any other man. A message that carried the probability to cause her to be a social outcast in her community for the rest of her life, and a message that could likely cause her to be ostracized from her own family. Yet, she accepted that message willingly anyway.
Despite the possible personal costs and hardships that could be coming her way, in Luke 1:46-55 Mary is singing a song full of joy and gratitude. Here is what she sang:
Mary’s Song
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
Here is Mary choosing to focus on the wonderful things God is doing and has done, focusing on the positives and not the negatives and focusing not on herself but on someone else (God). This is a huge lesson for me to learn.
I’m a detail person. I like to know – in advance – what is going to happen and how it’s going to work out. Moving forward into anything new in my life without knowing the details can cause me to stress, worry and be anxious about the details that I don’t know yet. Here’s what I’m seeing in Mary though. She accepted God’s word and she accepted that God was going to look after the details. She found peace and contentment knowing that God was looking after all the details. If Mary could do that in her situation, I should be able to as well in my own life.
The book of Philippians in the Bible is one of my favourites. In chapter 4 verses 4 through 9 the apostle Paul says,
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
To sum up what Paul is saying in these verses – be joyful and gentle, when you start to feel anxious or stressed give the situation to God in prayer and He will give you His peace. Think about things that are excellent and praiseworthy and let these types of things be the focus of your thoughts.
It’s easy to look at these verses and think that it’s too simplistic. Given the scope and size of the difficulties we face, it should be much more difficult to find peace and contentment, but in reality, if we are willing to accept God at His word – and that’s what the Bible is, God’s word – just like Mary accepted God’s word, then we can have the peace, contentment and joy that Mary had even when facing some of the most trying and challenging situations.
The key is being willing to accept God at His word just like Mary did, no matter what we’re facing.
I hope this helps someone today. Be blessed.