A Heart Like Mary’s



A HEART LIKE MARY’S

By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly

“Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! ...For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me.” – Luke‬ ‭1:46-49‬ ‭NLT‬‬

At this time of year we look at Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus, and reflect on the gift that was given to the world.

I have always marveled at the honor given to Mary to be the mother of the Savior of the world. But it wasn’t until this morning that it dawned on me how Mary must have felt to have received God’s invitation.  

I never considered what was being asked of her.  God promised a miracle, but with it came misunderstanding, embarrassment and risk.  No doubt there were those in Mary’s town who looked down upon her for being an unwed mother with a ridiculous excuse for her condition.  

We never learned how Mary’s parents reacted to the news of her pregnancy, other than to read that she went away to her cousin, Elizabeth’s house for a time during her pregnancy.  Perhaps her parents were ashamed of her.

Then there was her fiancé, Joseph.  She took a great risk to accept God’s assignment.  It would have been understandable for Joseph to secretly divorce her, to spare himself the humiliation of having his betrothed pregnant with someone else’s child.  

From our vantage point we hold Mary in high esteem, but at the time, God was asking her to do something exquisitely hard, frightening and painful.  He was asking her to be willing to sacrifice her comfort, plans and reputation for His will and an unprecedented promise.  Mary may have been young, but she was wise.  In wisdom she called herself blessed that the Father had taken notice of her.  She accepted the risk and burden as an honor, and her obedience was rewarded with honor.

Beloved, is the Father asking you to take a risk or do a hard or painful thing for His glory, too?  Pray with me.

Father, we consider what You are asking of us and we can only see the difficulty in it.  Give us hearts like Mary’s that see the difficulty through eyes of faith, and embrace the challenge. May we count ourselves blessed that You have taken notice of us and entrusted us with difficulty.  Spirit of God, come upon us. Power of the Most High, overshadow us.  Birth in us Your perfect will.

And one day when we stand before You, and see Your plan unwrapped in its fullness, may we see that, like Mary, what once looked like a burden, was in actuality a gift — an invitation for reward, honor and a reason for great joy.  In Jesus’ Name ❤️

https://www.facebook.com/Prayers-of-a-Ragamuffin-Warrior-171515087035441/


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