Mary the Mother of Jesus Pray for Us

^26-28 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her:

Good morning!
You’re beautiful with God’s beauty,
Beautiful inside and out!
God be with you.

^29-33 She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus.

He will be great,
    be called ‘Son of the Highest.’
The Lord God will give him
    the throne of his father David;
He will rule Jacob’s house forever—
    no end, ever, to his kingdom.”

³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “But how? I’ve never slept with a man.”

³⁵ The angel answered,

The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
    the power of the Highest hover over you;
Therefore, the child you bring to birth
    will be called Holy, Son of God.

^36-38 “And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.”

And Mary said,

Yes, I see it all now:
    I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve.
Let it be with me
    just as you say.

Then the angel left her.

Luke 1:26-38 (MSG)

In Hebrew 11:1 we are told that faith is the evidence of things not seen. When we read this passage of the Annunciation, of Mary being greeted by the Angel Gabriel, we read about Mary’s great faith in this moment, her willingness to step into the unknown and say, ‘yes’ to God’s invitation to be part of the greatest miracle in history, an event so great is would literally tear history in two, into before and after.

Mary couldn’t have known all of that in that one moment. Nor could she know how she would have her heartbroken as her young thirty-three-year-old son was beaten, or would experience the horror of watching him slowly and painfully die on wooden beams as life slowly ebbs from his lungs.

She didn’t know any of that, but still, she said yes.

Certainly, as a young Jewish woman, she would have listened in expectation to stories about the coming of the Messiah. But how in that moment, did she comprehend that she would bear a child who would become the Messiah?

This idea must have seemed at once awe-inspiring and frightening.

Faith? Yes,Mary must have had great faith in God to say yes to so many unknowns.

But I also believe she exhibited great courage. After all, once the angel of the Lord had left her, she would be alone. She would have to face the questions and the possible ridicule and perhaps worse, death, for an inexplicable pregnancy.

Yet, she said yes.

God wisely chose Mary, because he understood her great courage.

What does Godask of us?

I believe God never asks more of any of us than we are capable of. We are never promised that our trials will be easy, but we are promised that God will be with us through each of them, and that we will never be given more than we can handle.

When we face times of faith-testing difficulties, we can remember Mary’s courage, her willingness to say yes, and follow her example. Even when we, don’t see the entire way forward. In those moments, let’s say yes to God’s plan for our lives and trust that we will be guided and strengthened and ultimately hear God say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”

Spend Advent and Christmas with Jesus. Read the daily devotional, The Best Christmas, to grow your relationship.