Perfect Obedience

By Pat

We all know the story of Mary and Joseph and the events surrounding and leading up to the most wonderful miracle ever...the birth of Jesus. I love reading and hearing it, that glorious announcement that Mary would give birth to the Son of God, despite overwhelming obstacles. What a privilege! What an honor! I usually focus on the magnificence of the holy events surrounding the birth of a King, the Savior of the world. But when I read it this morning, I was struck by the complete and utter trust and the perfect obedience shown to God by Mary.

Mary knew all the ramifications of this unexplainable and unplanned pregnancy. She had to have been scared. Everything she and Joseph had planned was now changed, and she didn't know why...only that God chose her. So, instead of arguing and presenting her case to God about how difficult this would be, she obeyed. She gave herself as His vessel. How I long to be more like her...but I would guess most of us are not. I'm certainly not.

The excuses used to justify our reluctance and hesitancy in obeying calls from God are many; too old, too young, too poor. Too busy, too dumb, too slow. Too inexperienced, too shy. If something is out of our comfort zone, we argue that we must have misunderstood what God is communicating to us-God would never ask us to do something that seems, to us, preposterous. Right? Wrong! In my heart, I know that God would do exactly that. There are countless examples in scripture of God using the seemingly improbable to accomplish the absolutely impossible, for God always equips us with every tool we need to be effective servants in His work..if only we will obey His call, as Mary did.

So when God presents us with an opportunity to serve Him, let's push aside our fears, stop arguing with God, and boldly say, "Here am I...send me." We will never know what complete and humble obedience can accomplish for the Lord until we truly trust...and OBEY.

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her." (Luke 1:38)

Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.