We Can Learn So Much From Mary
This time of year we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Savior of the world!
I hope you are enjoying all of the Christmas festivities that this time of year has to offer. The scriptures surrounding his birth remind us of the great gift God gave us to redeem us of our sins. There seems to be endless ways to celebrate this joyous gift.
During the celebrations, do you think about what the scene of the birth of Jesus really looked like? Mary was VERY pregnant, riding a donkey to a place where there was nowhere to stay except a stable and no help to deliver the baby at such a young age. Mary had already had to navigate the judgement of being pregnant before marriage, but I wonder if she had imagined what it would look like to give birth to the Messiah. If we are honest I think all of us would admit that the setting of the birth of Jesus isn’t exactly what we would have expected. Maybe we would have envisioned a royal celebration – the best accommodations, midwives and celebrations to be found! Do you think Mary may have had these thoughts too? God had chosen Mary specifically for this and yet the circumstances seemed to be getting harder by the moment. Far from a celebration, Joseph and Mary were poor and King Herod had ordered all the baby boys to be killed! This isn’t some accidental oversight by God, this was intentional to fulfill prophecy.
If this was God's plan to bring the Messiah to earth, the most important birth EVER... what do you think God might be doing in your life?
What is the circumstance right now that doesn’t exactly look like a wonderous celebration? Do we think the miracles that God desires for our life are going to be easy to walk through? I’m going to step out here and say that often our vision of ease and abundance is likely not God’s idea for our life. I do believe that we serve a very good God who wants good things for us, the Bible tells us this. However, I also believe that God is much more focused on our transformation than our immediate comfort.
God wants us to experience all that he has for us and those lessons and strengthening don't come through the easy times....they come through the struggle.....and trusting God through it. Just like Mary did.
What if we were eager with anticipation about what God was teaching us through the struggle? I’ve had a lot of challenges in my life that have strengthened me. If I’m honest…..to say that I’m grateful for them would be a stretch, but I AM thankful for who they have made me to be today. I wouldn’t want to miss out on all that God HAS done in my life to have stayed in a cozier spot. Because of this I try to look through my current struggle and assess what God might be doing through it, analyze what in this moment I could be learning when everything seems to be going sideways. I don’t have to understand or have it all figured out, but I am trusting that God knows exactly what is going on and has a plan for bigger and better things for my life! I am confident that God is holding me in the palm of his hand and that as long as I keep my eyes on him it will all glorify him no matter what it might look like right now. That’s what Mary did.
Mary's unwavering faith is an inspiration to us all.
Join me!