Having a Mary Spirit... Week six
" I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. " May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. (Luke 1: 37)
" Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about 3 months and then returned home." (Luke 1:56)
We are left to guess at Mary's age at the time the angel visited her.. but she was probably no more than a teenager. Can you imagine it? An angel comes to you and gives you the news that you are going to have a child. And that Child will be the Son of God. I would be asking like she did... " how will this be?" The angel answers her.. and then he tells her a very powerful thing... Nothing is impossible with God.
Donna Otto is quoted in the book as having said, ' as far as I can tell, once Mary said yes to the angel, she kept saying yes to whatever God was doing in her life and her home.
The Bible tells us that Mary spent 3 months with her cousin Elizabeth who was also going to have a baby promised by God. Did you ever wonder why... was it to get away from prying eyes... or because Elizabeth needed her... or did she just need the comfort of an older woman who was experiencing the same thing she was? When Mary turned to Elizabeth, she drew strength from fact that they had the same things in common. They faced some of the same challenges in their upcoming motherhood. Do you see the parallels? In watching Elizabeth give birth to a child who would become a man used by God... Mary was preparing her own spirit to meet her future as the mother of The Messiah.
But, even as I type this, I wonder, did she really understand what would be asked of her??? I can't help but ponder how Mary endured the things she endured as the mother of The Christ...
Just imagine...
I have said yes to God using my children. I know their hearts and how much they love the Lord... I have watched their hearts break while trying so hard to do what they believe God is asking them to do. I've seen the heartache and the pain when others don't understand who they are or why they give so much...
Once my child was hurt so much by people who should have been there for him, who should have loved and supported him,but they accused him falsely. And one day as I was praying for him, I said to the Lord..."Look how they have treated my child." and He replied, " Sharon, look at what they did to Mine."
Doing God's will takes one yes at a time.. and sometimes these are very hard yeses.
There was a time when God was asking me to do something and I was like Jonah... " Lord, You're kidding, right. You know that I can't do that... that's too hard for me, I don't want to be a blessing to this person. I just want them to feel the pain that I feel." Yeah, I was being very stubborn about it. I went kicking and screaming. I did what God asked me to do after months of begging Him to let me off the hook. Did it make me feel better? No.. I was still like Jonah... I was waiting on God to punish this person. After months of dealing with me, The Father helped me to understand, for my own good, I had to forgive and get on with my life. Is this person a different person today.. I pray they are.
Lord, use my life to honor you all of my days..
My Lord and My God, keep your servant from willful sins, that they may not rule over me. And I will be innocent of great transgressions. (Psalm 19:13)
8 comments:
This is absolutely beautiful...
you my darlin... write so well... and this hits me right square in the heart....
Isn't it amazing how much our Jesus surrendered?
Now matter what we cry out to God, He's been there, done that!!!
I love you my friend... you are just amazing
Connie
Sharon
Sometimes it is so hard to understand things in our lives or ourchildrens. We ask why instead of..may it be to me or them.
The Lord has used this in my life over the years to encourage my children to remember that....Why should we expect to be treated more fairly or honored more than our Lord. Did He not answer humbly and did He not endure the mistreatment knowing that His Father was in control?
How we are called to be like Him and oh how we cannot do it without Him!!
I too pray that I will allow God to use me and that I would humbly surrender to my Father and He would be pleased with His servant
Thanks for sharing.
Cheryl
This is so good. You know, I never thought about why Mary stayed with Elizabeth before. Great insight. I have thought about what Mary must have gone through, internally, as she carried the Christ child in her womb. She had so little real knowledge of what that was all about, yet she still trusted God, and continued to trust and say Yes Lord. I enjoyed this, thank you. :)
Profound. You know I never did stop to think why Mary was with Elizabeth for 3 months. Now that you have mentioned it I will give it some thought. I think she did somehow feel the need to be with this older woman who was going through pregnancy as well...
I have thought about how special and pleasing Mary was in the eyes of the Lord, that out of all the women in the world, He chose her to carry and bear his Son.
So glad you wrote on my blog so I could find yours! I can't wait to go back and read your blog postings about this study. Hope all is well!
Elizabeth Fisher
What a wonderful thought provoking post. I have often thought of Mary and the position she was put in--humanly speaking it seems to hard...Did she know, I wonder, that her baby would be born to die? Did she know He would be the Son of God? I have often wondered how much was revealed to her and how much she was able to grasp.
I appreciate your heart felt sharing over the angst you have had with your childen's heartaches and trials. And I could so identify with the situation of the person God wanted you to minister to in some way.
Tomorrow is my daughter's birthday. She "divorced" me, as well as the rest of the family, over 12 years ago. We have not spoken in over eight years. I have reached out in letters and cards, but they have come back unopened. Tomorrow I may try calling her--fear clutches my heart at the thought as I even comtemplate this move. I think Mary was a mother who would keep trying.....
Thanks,
Joan
Forgiveness is a key element to really moving on when we've been hurt isn't it, Sharon? I don't think there is a much greater hurt than when our child is hurt, especially when they are innocent. Been there. It is really hard to forgive and to move on. As always, I enjoyed your post!
Kathy
I can't even imagine what Mary felt. I have a book about Mary by Francine Rivers that I have had for a few months and haven't read just because it may be painful to read. I know Mary was blessed but like you said being the mother of the Messiah must of been hard especially watching what would inevitably happen to Him.
Post a Comment