Monday, December 21, 2015

December 22, 2015

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel…..” Luke 1:26-34

God’s will presents you with two difficulties:

1) Discerning it, and:
2) Doing it after you have discerned it

God’s will was to have a Son and save the world.

Mary’s desire was to have her wedding.

You will see God’s will one of two ways, either as a problem or as a possibility. One of the things that made Mary exceptional is that she embraced the possibilities of the angel’s announcement once it was presented to her.

Now, granted, having an angel announce God’s will makes it much easier to discern! I can honestly say an angel has never appeared to me to reveal His will.

Even though God’s will was clearly presented to her and she knew the problems it would create for her and for Joseph she didn’t back away from submitting to His will.

One of the reasons God was able to accomplish a wonderful world-charging plan through Mary is because she chose to focus on the possibilities rather than the problems.

How did she do that?

Why did she do that?

The answer to both of those questions is the same: she loved God’s will more than she loved her own wedding plan. She didn’t deny the potential problems or discount them she just valued the God’s plan above her own pain. She valued God’s purpose more than her own peace of mind. She believed the power of God that would accomplish His purpose could also bring her through the problems associated with it. Mary chose to focus on the possibilities of God’s will because she was convinced of His power, she was called to His purpose and she was committed to His plan.

She surrendered her wedding but she saved her world.

Mary chose the possibilities of God’s will despite the problems it caused her. She understood that the biggest problem would have been to deny God’s will and disobey Him.

This lesson of Christmas is clear:

God’s will is more rewarding that your will.
God’s plan is more righteous that your plan.
God’s purpose is more redemptive than your purpose
God’s power is a resource sufficient for your problems.

And, God’s possibilities are released through your obedience.