Postured to Praise
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth, your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
(Luke 1:35-38 NIV)
Mary, the mother of Jesus, is one of the women in the Bible that teaches us a posture of praise. Her lifestyle and dedication to the Lord from an early age made her the chosen one for carrying and giving birth to the Messiah. There were many cultural and social implications that such a pregnancy brought though. But Mary was still obedient to God.
Throughout Scripture, we see how Mary was postured to receive from the Lord. She understood that her role was to be the vessel, to carry the promise, and to surrender. Mary positioned herself to be used by God and fulfill His will. God won’t give us something to carry if we are not ready to receive it. God has good things for us but sometimes we could miss His gifts and blessings because we don’t like the packaging. Sometimes we could miss what He planned for us because we don’t trust Him enough to wait until His work is finished. How much of our life would change if we started to answer like Mary, “May your word to me be fulfilled”?
Mary was blessed because she believed. Even when we hesitate, we are encouraged to bring our doubts to the Lord and believe that He is in control of everything. We don’t need to let the circumstances of our daily life dictate how we worship God. Faith is believing what we are not able to see, yet trusting He will give us exactly what we need. We will get stuck if we get fixated only on what is happening right in front of us. If we trust God, He’ll guide us in the right direction at His perfect time.
Mary had a song in her spirit. She didn’t focus on her fears or doubts. She opened up her heart to worship and praised the one she loved from a place of faith, trust, and obedience. Mary trusted God with the unknown. Even when Mary witnessed Jesus Christ’s pain on the cross, she kept believing that God had promised victory. Mary is a perfect example of surrender, taking the same posture that Jesus did when Jesus said, “yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Prayer: Lord, I surrender my life to you today. I want to trust your will. I want to give you my everyday, my goals, and my dreams. I surrender my passions to you. I invite you to become my savior and make all things new. Thank you for loving me to new Life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.