Something’s coming.
Luke 1:34–38 (ESV)
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Notice that Mary’s question doesn’t upset Gabriel. She asks, “How will this be?” not, “How shall I know this?” The difference is just a few words, but it’s night-and-day in meaning. She’s asking how, not if. Mary doesn’t doubt Gabriel’s words; she just wants to know how this will happen.
And Gabriel’s answer confirms this interpretation; he tells her how she will get pregnant. He could have prefaced this with, “I’m glad you asked,” since she needs to know this.
We don’t know what it was like for Mary when, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;” but without this heads-up, it could have been scary.
Then Gabriel drops the news about Elizabeth, and Mary’s happy-meter hits the pin.
What an incredible moment. Part of God’s blessing on Mary is that He keeps her sane through all this. She has a lot of work to do. Her role is glorious but far from easy.
Time to go see Elizabeth.
God puts many people on roads they did not expect to walk. Mary’s road turned out to be super-painful, but she had the comfort of seeing God’s hand in everything. Our friends could use some of that same encouragement. Ask God to comfort them by revealing Himself.
I often catch myself praying for the wrong thing. When people have been assigned to tough roads, my reflex is to ask God to take them off those roads. But over time my prayers sometimes change focus as I start to understand the road.
Christian fellowship often means coming alongside people and helping them walk their roads. Tough roads can be lonely. Everyone wants to be around good situations. If you can learn to be drawn to tough ones, you can do a lot of good. Encouragement is a holy task.
But don’t stop praying that pain be minimized or for a tough road to be short. Lessons can be brief. God loves to bless His people. Never assume that a trial must be permanent.
You just never know. His ways are higher than our ways.
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These weekday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. Saturdays’ by Matt Richardson. Subscribe here: https://www.ailbe.org/resources/community
The weekly study guides, which include questions for discussion or meditation, are here: https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies
Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NASB stands for the New American Standard Bible. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.
