The Women Who Met JesusSýnishorn

Will Jesus Give Me Strength?

The entire Old Testament looks forward to a Messiah who would come and set His people free. It is crazy to think that when He comes to set this whole plan into motion, He starts with a teenage girl.

The angel Gabriel shows up out of the blue one day to Mary, to announce that she is going to conceive a child who will be the Messiah. Her natural response is wonder. After all, she is quick to point out that she is a virgin. Gabriel informs her that the Holy Spirit will fill her womb and that nothing is impossible with God.

The implications of this are staggering. How will she explain it to Joseph, to whom she is engaged to be married? What will her family think? Who will ever believe her? But her faith-filled response is inspiring, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be done to me as you have said.”

In that one statement, Mary reveals why she is highly favored.

Like Mary, we carry Jesus into the world. Obviously, we don’t carry Him in our wombs, but we carry His message of salvation into a world that does not understand. Thankfully, we are not expected to follow Jesus based upon our own strength. If that were the case, we would definitely fail. But like Mary, we surrender to the Lord’s plan. He empowers and equips us to live it out.

Ephesians 5:18 encourages us to “... be filled with the Spirit.” As followers of Jesus, His Spirit lives in us and works through us. Surrendering to the Spirit empowers us. By yielding to God’s Spirit, we are able to share Mary’s desire to have God’s will accomplished in our lives.

Reflection: Take a moment to surrender to the Lord and ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit. With whom, in your life, is the Holy Spirit prompting you to share Jesus? Begin praying for this person.