Elizabeth

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 

Luke 1:39-40 (NIV)

The first thing Mary did after the angel Gabriel appeared to her was hurry to see her relative Elizabeth. Why Elizabeth? She didn't hurry to see Joseph or her mother or her best friend. She went to see Elizabeth right off. Why? Because Elizabeth was the only person in the whole world who might understand what she was going through and believe her!

The angel Gabriel had told Mary that her Elizabeth was also experiencing a miracle pregnancy. Elizabeth had long been barren but was now with child. If anyone was going to believe Mary’s miraculous pregnancy it would be Elizabeth who was experiencing a miracle of her own. So, Mary hurried off to see Elizabeth, because she knew she needed that support.

And you do too! We all need someone who understands the crazy things God has called us to do, someone who encourages us and cheers us on as we timidly take those first steps of faith. It can be very scary to trust God at times. It helps to have someone who will support you as you step out in faith. Those kinds of people are very important in our lives. 

Moses had Aaron. Paul had Barnabas. And Mary had Elizabeth. Do you have anyone in your life like that? If God called you to do something crazy today, who would you run to to talk about it? If you don’t know, then you need to cultivate that kind of Christian friendship with someone. You need to find your Elizabeth.

And I also want to encourage to be an Elizabeth for someone else. Find someone whose faith you can strengthen, someone you can pray for as they step out in faith. Find someone you can encourage and support along the road of faith. Be someone’s Elizabeth! You never know how you might impact eternity simply by helping and encouraging someone else that God has called to do amazing things.

The Humility of Mary

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

Luke 1:29

Mary's response to the angel Gabriel appearing to her and announcing God's favor on her shows her humility. It was a wonder to her that she should be chosen for such an honor. She didn’t think, “Well, of course an angel would appear to me. Of course, I am highly favored by God.” No! She was very perplexed, greatly troubled by what the angel Gabriel had said to her. She wondered or pondered what this could possibly mean because she was so humble.

This is another way in which Mary shows us an important qualification for being used by God. One that we often overlook and under appreciate. James 4:6 says, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” 

Are you proud? If so, God opposes you. How can He use someone He is actively opposed to? No. If you want to be used by God, then start by humbling yourself. Because “God shows favor to the humble.”

How can you humble yourself this Christmas? Maybe, you can start cultivating humility in your life by focusing more on others this Christmas than you do on yourself. And maybe, you can even go one step further and strive to focus more on God this Christmas then you do on others and yourself. Make your Christmas about Jesus this year.   

The Lord's Servant

"I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said."

Luke 1:38

Considering all that the angel Gabriel told Mary, she must have known that God was calling her to make a great, personal sacrifice. Gabriel told Mary that God’s plan was for her to get pregnant out of wedlock while engaged to Joseph. Mary had to know that no one would believe this was a miraculous conception… a virgin birth. She had to know that this would bring shame and judgment on her. She had to worry that Joseph wouldn’t believe her and that he would end their engagement, which Matthew’s gospel tells us he very nearly did.

Don't get me wrong. Mary was highly favored. It was a great honor for her to be chosen to bear the Messiah. But at the same time, that calling cost her dearly. It threatened her happiness. It altered the course of her life. And it required great sacrifice of her. As Simeon says in Luke 2:35, a sword would pierce Mary’s own soul too as a result of God’s plan for her life.

Mary surely must have understood at least some of this, but look at how she responds to the angel Gabriel's announcement! She didn’t do what Moses did. She didn’t try to convince God to choose someone else. She didn’t ask God for a sign like Gideon did. She didn’t run away from God’s calling on her life like Jonah did. No, Mary simply said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”

First, she said, “I am the Lord’s servant (or slave).” Oh, that those five words were the motto of every Christian! How different our world would be if more of us saw ourselves not as free individuals, but as God’s bondservants, created by God for His use for His glory. That’s how May saw herself... as God’s slave. That’s why she didn’t hesitate to say, “May it be to me as you have said.”

Following God, submitting to His will, would cost Mary dearly, but she was willing to risk the life she wanted to obey the God she loved. Are you? What is God calling you to that might mess up all your plans and alter the course of your life? Are you willing to say to Him today, ““I am the Lord’s servant…may it be to me as you have said”?

W.o.W. Rewind: The Providence of Christmas

 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 

Matthew 1:18

Over and over again the gospel accounts of Jesus' birth go out of their way to impress upon us that Jesus’ birth happened in the fullness of time, according to plan, to fulfill God’s promises. Nowhere is this more clear than in the gospel of Matthew. From the very first verse, Matthew takes great pains to tie Jesus’ birth back to the ancient promises of God. In the first two chapters of his book, Matthew points to four different Old Testament prophecies to show how God providentially ordered all the details of Jesus’ birth in accord with His plan. 

So when you think of all the details of the Christmas story that God worked out to fulfill prophecy... when you think of Jesus being born of a virgin, in Bethlehem, and of the line of David, be reminded that God is in control and He is working all things out according to His plan.

This is true not only of the big events of human history but also of all the small events of your life. History isn’t careening out of control. The circumstances of your life aren’t wholly random. God is in control and He is directing everything toward His desired end. Isn’t that comforting? 

So, as you celebrate Christmas this year, celebrate that God knows how the story ends. Celebrate that the world isn’t out of control. Celebrate that God is working all things (even your life) out according to His plan and moving us all toward His end for His purposes.