Befriending God: A 3-Day Reading Plan on Surrenderنمونہ

Gabriel refers to Mary, an unwed, unknown young woman as “highly favored” and tells her, “The Lord is with you.” The Greek word for “favor” here is from charis—which means unmerited, undeserved grace from God. It is not money, power, appearance, or any other cultural qualifiers that mark Mary’s life with God’s approval. The purity of God’s presence has set her apart for this appointed moment of encounter with divine destiny. Mary’s inclusion in God’s redemptive story was not a product of the world’s standards of eligibility for honor. In that time and place, power was systemic and male-centric. There was not yet a Messiah who granted personal access to God. There was a temple, a sacrificial system, a priesthood, and a religious calendar. As an unmarried teenager and a woman, Mary lived outside these structures. Even still, God gazed down on her lowly state and saw the purity of Mary’s heart. In the opening lines of her song in Luke 1, we see Mary marveling at her unlikeliness and operating in full sobriety of who she appeared to be to the world around her. Yet she did not choose to disqualify herself; instead, she embraced surrender. She decided to trust God’s choice of her regardless of how misaligned it was with man’s standards of eligibility.

Mary’s life helps us understand three things surrender accomplishes in our spiritual formation and life with God. We will study the first today. Surrender dethrones the idols of the heart. Mary surrendered. Even though she was wide-eyed and operating in full sobriety of her limitations. Since she was an unmarried teenager, it was extremely likely she would be misjudged and mislabeled as unfit and unqualified. Even still, she chose to operate out of God’s favor rather than fight for man’s commendation. For one moment, try to fathom the depths of this kind of radical loyalty to God. I wonder if He knew that the idols of man’s approval and cultural good standing had not yet hypnotized her heart. Perhaps she had learned to live in the world without being defined by it.

Mary took her place in a long line of fathers and mothers of the faith who walked in the fear of the Lord and loved God’s Kingdom rightly . . . to the extent that worldly idols of the heart were crushed underneath the weight of the reality of God Himself. Mary’s loyalty to God as a person was her priority, and she surrendered to the sovereignty, mystery, and activity of God at all costs.

Prayer

God, Your word reminds us that You set your gaze, not on a grand city center but on the small, humble corner of the world known as Nazareth. Your favor was fixed on an unassuming, unlikely virgin named Mary. A young woman plucked out of utter obscurity to fulfill your plan to save the world. You look not on the outward appearance. Your sight is set on the yielded, the surrendered, and the One untethered from the world and tethered to Your heart. God help us to attune ourselves today and each day to the timeless values of your kingdom. A kingdom where the last is first, the meek inherit the earth, and the poor in Spirit are blessed.