Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lord of heaven and earth, by Lord of my steps and my decisions throughout my day. ...
"And (the angel Gabriel) came to (Mary) and said, 'Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.' But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you will call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.' Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I am a virgin?' The angel said to 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 holy; He will be called Son of God" (Luke 1:28-35).
Mary was "much perplexed" by the word of God's will for her life. "How can this be?" "This doesn't make sense?" "Are you sure?" "How can I be sure?" Before Mary could come to place of saying, "Let it be with me according to your word," she first had a few questions to ask (v. 1:38). She first had to wrestle with this word, seek to discern it's accuracy, it's meaning, it's implications for her life. Yet there was something in her heart that moved her to trust that You had a plan for her life that was far different from the plans she had thought and the plans she had made.
Through the angel, You called her, "favored one." You said she had "found favor with God." Yet her "favor" didn't really seem like You were doing her any "favors" at all. She was to be a pregnant teenager. She was to be a virgin with child. She was to be faithful to a word from the Lord that would be very contrary to the normal ways and expectations of the people she valued and trusted in her life. Lord, could You have been any more divisive? Could You have been any more scandalous? Could You have been any more challenging to the attitudes, wisdom, doctrines, and traditions of the religious law and culture it seems You established?
Mary's own beloved and betrothed, Joseph, to whom she was deeply committed and willing to trust with the rest of her life, would reject her at first. He couldn't bring himself to believe her--out of his own thoughts apart from Your thoughts, out of his own ways apart from Your ways--until he, too, would hear the word of the Lord for himself (Matthew 1:19-25). He would have to come to a place to trust that Mary didn't choose this path out of her own will or imagination. He would have to come to believe that the course for Mary's life was being set, in part, by circumstances beyond her control, but that God was in it. It was as much a challenge to Joseph's faith as it was to Mary's. Yet in time, they both chose to trust and obey, despite the high cost they would pay in facing the judgments and opinions of those they trusted and loved, who would find their faith and passion for faithfulness hard to believe.
Lord, so often, Your thought are not our thoughts and Your ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). You call us to seek You every moment of every day. You call us to listen for the leading of Your voice, saying, "This is the way, walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21). The children of God are to be led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14). And so often, we feel we have to explain it, justify it, defend it, call our witnesses to support it. When really, we just need to know that as best as can and all by Your grace, we have sought You, trusting You to put Your thoughts in our minds and Your desires in our hearts to guide the steps of our days according to Your plan for our lives.
There will be other plans and other lives that will be factors and influences beyond our control, but we can't live our lives under the worry and fear about that or the judgments and opinions of those who can't fully know our hearts and haven't ever had to walk in our shoes. So there are times when it's better to remain silent, to let You be our Advocate, trusting that somehow in Your timing, Your way, and Your mercy, You are at work, causing all things to work together for good according to Your purposes and plans for our lives, as we choose to keep loving You and trusting You--moment by moment, morning by morning, one day at a time.
Sometimes, we'll get it wrong. Sometimes, we'll do it wrongly. "None are righteous, no not one" (Romans 3:10). So we all need Your mercy and grace to redeem the brokenness and failures of our lives. And we all need faith and hope and love to keep seeking You, listening for You, trusting and obeying You, as best as we can and all by Your grace. And I believe that if we do, no matter what, no matter whose fault or failure, You're still God and You still have a plan and a purpose for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11). "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29).
Maybe the favored ones are the faithful ones. I don't mean faithful to always be right, to always be righteous or self-righteous, for none of us can be, but to be faithful to keeping seeking You to lead us and redeem us, to make beauty out of our ashes, to trust You to keep giving us hope with a future, bringing the fullness of salvation to ourselves and to others even out of the sinfulness and brokenness of our lives. After all, it's only those who are forgiven much who can truly love much (Luke 7:47). And I want to spend my life loving much. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Christmas Party Dec 10th! w/ Messiah Ministries & Tommy Hays
Friends of Tommy Hays & Messiah Ministries ...
Come Join Us Friday Night, December 10th!
Messiah Ministries Christmas Party
Come for an evening of fellowship & refreshments, worship, and hearing stories of God's glory and all He is doing through Messiah Ministries at home and abroad. Come and bring friends to learn more about our ministry and join in prayer and provision for our calling and vision--
"Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God"
6:30 in the Chapel & Foyer at Centenary UMC
2800 Tates Creek Rd., Lexington
Please RSVP to Marilyn at DirOfMinistries@aol.com or 859-317-1591 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 859-317-1591 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
God bless you and Merry Christmas from all of us at Messiah Ministries!
--Tommy Hays, Founder & Spiritual Director
Subscribe to our Events Calendar & Newsletter or
Tommy's Daily Prayer Devotional, Morning by Morning
at our New Web Site: www.messiah-ministries.org
Tommy Hays & Messiah Ministries
"Preparing the Way of the Lord
... Ministering the Healing Love of God"
2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, KY 40502, USA
www.messiah-ministries.org
