Mary Was a MomSýnishorn

Surprise! You’re pregnant!

Do you remember the first time you heard those words or saw the plus sign on that stick indicating a positive? I do. The first time was a shock! We weren’t really trying to have a baby, yet a child was growing inside me! What a collision of extreme emotions!

Mary certainly wasn’t trying to get pregnant either, but she knew it was a possibility. Every young Jewish woman who listened weekly to the Torah and the prophecies of the Old Testament was waiting expectantly for the Messiah, and she was the chosen one! (Isaiah 7:14)

When Gabriel appears to give her the news, he tells her how blessed she is and that God is with her. Then Luke tells us, “...she was greatly troubled.” Now, consider that this account is written by one man telling another man these events (Luke 1:3). Greatly troubled??! An angel just appeared to her, and she is only “thoroughly shaken”? You and I both know there was probably a far greater emotional display than what Luke tells his friend!

Gabriel continues with his news, “Don’t be afraid, but...surprise! You’re going to have a baby and his name will be Jesus.” What? An angel just dropped some preposterous information and she’s not supposed to be afraid? Maybe she’s not supposed to be, but based on her following question, I believe she is. Mary asks, “How can this be so, since I am a virgin?” Now remember, she has been sitting in the synagogue each Sabbath day and hearing the prophecies. She knows the promised Messiah comes from a virgin, (Isaiah 7:14) yet in her moment of terror, she forgets God’s words.

Just as we forget.

As Gabriel continues speaking and telling her that her barren, older cousin, Elizabeth, is now pregnant, he proclaims one of my favorite verses: Nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37).

Even with the fears and questions that must have been spinning in her mind, Mary recalls Who she belongs to.

Nothing is impossible with God.

In that moment she remembers His character and His faithfulness, and her heart and mind focus on Him. She isn't anxious about the future. She isn't asking for a plan.

In faith she answers, “I am the Lord’s maid, ready to serve.”

Oh, Father, may my heart be as willing, and may my faith and hope in You be strong! May I be so close to You that I never forget Your faithfulness.

Is your heart open and willing, ready to surrender to His call? Do you respond to the difficult circumstances of life by remembering Who He is and Whose you are?