Luke 1 says, “Gabriel appeared to her and said, "Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!" Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. "Don't be afraid, Mary," the angel told her, "for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a Son, and you will name Him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David. And He will reign over Israel forever; His Kingdom will never end!"
Wow! Talk about a struggle to grasp the awesomeness!! Then I consider her cousin Elizabeth who was to give birth to a son in her old age. Knowing this Mary hurried to visit Elizabeth. I am sure she longed for the wise counsel of her godly cousin not to mention they could go shopping together at Babies R UsJ Elizabeth greeted her with a glad cry and the baby in her womb jumped for joy! Elizabeth said Mary was blessed because she believed that the Lord would do what He said! Mary responded in the way only a woman of God would respond….
Luke 1:46-55 "Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For He took notice of His lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy, and He has done great things for me. He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear Him. His mighty arm has done tremendous things! He has scattered the proud and haughty ones. He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. He has helped His servant Israel and remembered to be merciful. For He made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever."
Elizabeth and Mary readily accepted what God had for them regardless of the struggle to walk through it while others either showed unbelief or scorn. These godly women are a wonderful example of how to walk the journey of grasping the awesomeness of God with grace and finesse.
Merry Christmas friends!
Tina Laubscher
--and a testiment to the value of having godly friends and family we can share with when we don't quite "get it." May we ladies of Grace be that kind of support to each other.
ReplyDelete