How Can This Be?
“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 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 1:26-38 NKJV.
Mary ends her dialogue with Gabriel saying “Let it be unto me according to your word” Mary gives her yes to God’s will, out of love, consenting to let God intervene in a most extraordinary way in her own life.
God has tremendous plans for our lives that He has known since time began. It’s quite remarkable and we cannot fully grasp this in our time on earth. Listen how comforting these Scripture quotes are from a couple of Old Testament prophets: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope” (Jeremiah 29:11) and “Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands” (Is 49:15-16). God knows us better than anyone else in the world, and He has made us to be here at this very moment and prepared all of us for a special purpose.
Perhaps God is calling us in a special way, to serve Him; and we are questioning ourselves, how can this be? If so, can we trust God enough to give up our own wishes and plans to listen to His?
It is easy to think we are unworthy anything large God has planned in our lives. In addition, However, God will never give us a task too great. We too are called like Mary was to say yes to God. We do this because God loves us, we love Him back, and we entrust ourselves to His sheltering care.
Mary joyfully abandons herself to God’s will and says yes. Her yes changed the face of the earth as she bore Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, our Savior! Will you do the same and watch how God will use your yes to manifest great things in the world?
Let us always remember that with God nothing is impossible; and as we read and hear His promises, let us turn them into prayers, Behold the willing servant of the Lord; let it be unto me according to thy word.