Holidays with the Help ClubSample

Believe and Ponder

by Jennifer Valdois

I love the Christmas song, “Mary Did You Know?” by Mark Lowry. This song asks powerful questions of young Mary, chosen by God to carry His Son. Did she realize that when she kissed her little baby, she was kissing the face of God? Or that the sleeping child she was holding was the great I Am?

I want to learn to be more like Mary. She was quick to believe God, and she quietly pondered the things of God in her heart.

In Luke chapter one, we first read about Zechariah doubting the angel who told him his barren wife would bear a child. Then, we read about Mary. An angel appears to her and tells her she will conceive by the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Son of God. Amazingly, Mary believes God right away. She says, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38 NLT).

Don’t you want to be like Mary and take God at His word? When we read the Bible, God speaks to us. He tells us we are His, and He guides us into all truth.

"All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

What is He saying to you today during this Christmas season? Above all, I hope you hear that you are dearly loved. He sent His only begotten Son so you may live with Him forever.

In Luke chapter two, the angel of the Lord returns, appearing to shepherds and announcing the birth of the promised Savior. After the shepherds find Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, they tell everyone they know what they have seen and heard. In contrast, the Bible says, “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).

Incredible things were happening before her very eyes, yet she did not run around telling everyone she knew. Rather, she tucked them away—even the things she didn’t understand—and pondered them in her heart.

I want to be more introspective like Mary and meditate on the things of God. As I witness answered prayers and blessings all around me, I want to remember them, pondering God’s goodness and treasuring them in my heart. It is my prayer that these thoughts will spill over into what I say and do. All too often, my words can be harsh, and I say things I regret. I need the power of God operating in my life so I can be “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry” (James 1:19).

Please pray with me this Christmas season: 

"Jesus, help me to be more like Mary and believe in God’s Word and His promises. Help me to treasure the things of God in my heart."

“When God reveals truth to you, by whatever means, that is a divine encounter.”
~ Henry Blackaby