Life is full of surprises.
I loved the ministry opportunities God was giving me in teaching, speaking, and writing. And then, came a cancer diagnosis bringing with it a doctor’s grim advice to “take a year off. You’ll need that to recover from surgery, chemo therapy, and radiation.”
When one’s plans are being dashed, what is the right response? Mary the mother of Jesus became my example.
What were Mary’s plans? Marry Joseph to whom she was engaged and have a family. But God had other plans. One day, the angel Gabriel told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and she would become pregnant with God’s Son. How did Mary respond?
“Couldn’t you wait until I marry Joseph?” No! “I am the LORD’s servant,” she said. “And I am willing to accept whatever he wants.”
I’m willing to give up my agenda for God’s agenda.
Mary took the risk of obeying God. Becoming pregnant out of wedlock could cost her everything she valued in life. She would lose Joseph, she would bring shame upon her family–the whole village would brand her as a harlot. She could even be stoned to death.
But Mary focused on the privilege, not the pain, of being chosen by God to be the mother of the long-awaited Messiah.
Obedience is about discovering God’s will and obeying it, not about avoiding unpleasant consequences. I am trying to see my present “detour” as an opportunity to put my roots deeper into God’s character and His Word. It’s learning about trusting God even when I don’t understand and acting in complete dependence upon Him.
It takes courage and humility to say,
“I am the LORD’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants.”
But what joy and peace come with surrender!
Mary lived an ordinary life in a small town in northern Israel. She lived her life in relative obscurity, yet the world has celebrated her obedience to God for over two thousand years.
I wonder, could our obedience to God have far-reaching results too?
by Helen Lescheid
Used by Permission
To read more of Helen’s writings go to http://www.helenlescheid.com
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