Mary: A Woman Yielded to God
Mary: A Woman Yielded to God
by Dr. Paul Chappell
Luke 2:4-5"And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city ofNazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is calledBethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child."
Long before Mary, the mother of Jesus, traveled that arduous journey to Bethlehem, the angel Gabriel had been sent by God to prepare her for the amazing events that were about to take place.
Gabriel came to a young virgin named Mary and said, "Fear not, Mary:for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the highest: and theLord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there hall be no end." Can you imagine Mary's surprise when she finds out that she is pregnant with the Son of God? Gabriel tells her in verse thirty-five, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Can you imagine the initial fear and shock as these words reverberated in her mind? How would she tell Joseph, the man she was espoused to marry,that she was pregnant by the Holy Ghost? Would he still want to marryher? In those days, the punishment for an offence against an espousal was great. Would Joseph understand the situation?
Luke 1:38 gives us insight into the character of Mary and her yieldedspirit towards God and His divine plan: "And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And theangel departed from her." To put this in today's vernacular, this was not a planned pregnancy, and Mary's friends and relatives were probably telling her not to go through with the ordeal.
Thankfully, Mary was sensitive to the Lord's will. She was yielded to Him even in a confusing and difficult circumstance. Because of herwillingness to accept God's plan, she brought forth the Saviour ofthis world on that first Christmas morning.
Friend, when you look at Mary's life you will realize that God isready to assume full responsibility for the life that is completely yielded to Him. You may say, "I just don't know if I should step outby faith and trust God?" I believe Mary was saying, "Lord, I'm going to keep on believing, and I'm going to leave the results up to you,because if I follow Your Word, You will take care of me."
I want you to understand this Christmas that the God of Mary is the same God who says, "I will supply all of your needs." He is the same esterday, today, and forever. Are you going to trust Him this holiday season? Are you going to yield your will to His divine plan?Remember that God is waiting to bless the life that is wholly yielded to Him.
by Dr. Paul Chappell
Luke 2:4-5"And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city ofNazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is calledBethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child."
Long before Mary, the mother of Jesus, traveled that arduous journey to Bethlehem, the angel Gabriel had been sent by God to prepare her for the amazing events that were about to take place.
Gabriel came to a young virgin named Mary and said, "Fear not, Mary:for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the highest: and theLord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there hall be no end." Can you imagine Mary's surprise when she finds out that she is pregnant with the Son of God? Gabriel tells her in verse thirty-five, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Can you imagine the initial fear and shock as these words reverberated in her mind? How would she tell Joseph, the man she was espoused to marry,that she was pregnant by the Holy Ghost? Would he still want to marryher? In those days, the punishment for an offence against an espousal was great. Would Joseph understand the situation?
Luke 1:38 gives us insight into the character of Mary and her yieldedspirit towards God and His divine plan: "And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And theangel departed from her." To put this in today's vernacular, this was not a planned pregnancy, and Mary's friends and relatives were probably telling her not to go through with the ordeal.
Thankfully, Mary was sensitive to the Lord's will. She was yielded to Him even in a confusing and difficult circumstance. Because of herwillingness to accept God's plan, she brought forth the Saviour ofthis world on that first Christmas morning.
Friend, when you look at Mary's life you will realize that God isready to assume full responsibility for the life that is completely yielded to Him. You may say, "I just don't know if I should step outby faith and trust God?" I believe Mary was saying, "Lord, I'm going to keep on believing, and I'm going to leave the results up to you,because if I follow Your Word, You will take care of me."
I want you to understand this Christmas that the God of Mary is the same God who says, "I will supply all of your needs." He is the same esterday, today, and forever. Are you going to trust Him this holiday season? Are you going to yield your will to His divine plan?Remember that God is waiting to bless the life that is wholly yielded to Him.
posted by mS eLoVe | 2:02 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home