“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord;
let it be to me according to Your Word.”
Can you imagine an angel from God suddenly appearing in front of you? Telling you something will happen to you that is so incomprehensible that no one on earth can ever understand it?
What a shock it must have been for Mary, coming from the disregarded, despised city of Nazareth. She was among the poor and unnoticed.
But God noticed her. He chose her to carry our Savior, truly God who became poor so that we might become rich.
“You know the grace that has come to us
through our Lord Jesus the Anointed.
He set aside His infinite riches
and was born into the lowest circumstance
so that you may gain great riches
through His humble poverty.”
2 Corinthians 8:9 Voice
When the angel appeared, Mary became frightened, but the angel told her:
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Now listen:
You will conceive and give birth to a son,
and you will call His name Jesus.
He will be great
and will be called the Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give Him
the throne of His father David.
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and His kingdom will have no end.”
Luke 1:30-33 HCSB
Mary was baffled, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
The angel replied to her:
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore, the holy One to be born
will be called the Son of God.”
Luke 1:35 HCSB
Wow! God poured in His grace, and Mary opened her heart and believed this was not impossible with God. She answered His call, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to Your Word.” (Luke 1:38 ESV)
What would this illegitimate birth mean for Mary in the culture in which she lived? Her father might have cast her out and forced her into begging. She would be scorned and could even be put to death, but God took care of all this and told Joseph not to abandon her and to go ahead and marry her anyway.
She may still have been under suspicion. Maybe she even lost friends.
A difficult journey was ahead of her, and she knew her submission to God would be costly. Yet she remained devoted to Him and freely offered Him her body and soul. It was more important to her to follow God and have His favor than gain the approval of people.
O Lord, are we that available to You? Please help us to give You our whole hearts and lives, both body and soul. Make us open to whatever You have in mind for us in this life, even when we can’t understand it or we meet with resistance. Like Mary, help us to put Your favor and glory above people’s approval and favor. Enable us to throw ourselves into Your hands with a childlike trust as Your servants, ready to do or be whatever You ask us to! Help us to make room in our hearts for You! We invite You to be born in the stinking, dirty stable of our hearts! Help us to embrace and be filled with awe that You became poor so we might become rich! Thank You for Your free gift of unspeakable love!
Be Born In Me
Francesca Battistelli
May the heart of Christmas give you hope
in spite of any difficult circumstances you may be in!
I hope to be back here on January 8.
Freed to Fly 
Wow. Imagine what our lives would look like it that’s the prayer we prayed each and every day … ‘“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord;
let it be to me according to Your Word.”
We’d be freed up from our agendas, our pride would fade, and there’d be a peace and joy that’d be non-stop.
Trudy, thanks for this post. Mary’s words have hit home for me in a very fresh way this morning.
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So true, Linda! I’m grateful Mary’s words hit home in a fresh way. We truly need that every day, don’t we? May we fully give our hearts and lives to God’s way!
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The older I get, the more amazed I am by Mary’s absolute trust and faith in the Lord that she submitted perfectly to His will. May we all have such faith!
Blessings, Trudy!
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I do, too, Martha. It truly is amazing. Yes, may we all have such faith! Blessings to you, too! May we more deeply learn to trust in the Lord with all our hearts!
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Mary’s faithful obedience is even more astounding when we think about how young she was. Her spiritual maturity belied her years. It’s such a struggle in these times of chasing likes, wanting people to approve of who we are and applaud what we do, to choose instead to promote God’s glory and not our own. But it’s vital if we’re to live with integrity, faithfulness, and surrendered trust before Him. May it be so, Lord! Come take up residence in “the dirty stable of our hearts” and sweep them clean with your mercy, grace and love. Thank you, Trudy, for the way you always point us to the everlasting Hope we have in Christ. May you have a good rest break and a joyful, peaceful Christmas! Sending hugs, love and blessings to you across the pond! xo 💜💟🌟
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Amen! “May it be so, Lord!” Thank you for your kind words and continued loving support through the struggles in life, Joy. Hugs, love, and blessings to you, too! I hope you also may have a good rest break and joyful, peaceful Christmas! May God sweep clean all that is from us with His mercy, grace, and love!
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Wishing you a peaceful Christmas, Trudy. Thank you for your beautiful and thought-provoking posts over the last year.
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Thank you for your kind words, Adele. I wish you a peaceful Christmas as well! And thank you, too, for your posts this year. Your nature photos truly speak rest and peace to my weary heart. I look forward to them. May our eyes ever be open to the beauty and faithfulness of our Creator in His creation!
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Great lights in you heart!
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Thank you, Urzre. May God fill our hearts with the light of His love so brightly that we will reflect His love to others!
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Mary’s example of faith and surrender is such a challenge! Even though it seemed impossible and was probably very costly she was willing to embrace God’s plan for her. I love the prayer you shared here and the song is one of my favourites too. I hope you have a lovely Christmas and New Year!
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Thank you, Lesley. I’m so glad Mary’s faith both encourages and challenges you. It does me also. I hope you have a lovely Christmas and New Year as well! May the bottomless love of Jesus fill our hearts with joy!
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Beautiful post! One time I preached on how Mary must have felt as a single virgin as that is exactly what I am too. I can just see the stares etc I would get if all of a sudden I said I was pregnant. It definitely changes ones perspective. And you cannot go wrong with Francesca Battestelli. She is one of my all time faves! Blessed to be your neighbor at Tell His Story this week.
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Thank you, Tara. Yes, it would certainly be difficult. All the condemning stares… I love Francesca’s songs, too. 🙂 May we open our hearts to follow the Lord wherever He may lead us even if it means scorn!
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Oh Trudy,
I had to come visit here even in the middle of my blogging break, and I am so glad that I did. Your prayer is so beautiful, and touched my heart in so many ways. I am so very grateful that Jesus is willing and in fact longs to come into the smelly and dirty stable of my heart. What a precious Savior we have! And oh, may I also choose to value God’s favor above man’s approval. So much to ponder here, Dear Friend. May you have a precious Christmas time, and a Happy New Year! Love & Hugs! xoxo
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I’m so glad this touched your heart, Bettie. Yes, what a precious Savior we have! It’s incomprehensible how much He lowered Himself out of such love for us. I hope you have a precious Christmas time and a Happy New Year, too. May our bodies and souls be refreshed and renewed with His love! Love and hugs back to you!
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The story of Mary is such a beautiful example of the power of “yes”. Mary’s response to Gabriel invite of her questions and uncertainty was a simple “yes”. Oh how I pray I can do the same when God calls me.
Thank you for this offering. Merry Christmas blessings!
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Yes, Mary, may we both respond with a “yes” to wherever God leads us! Merry Christmas blessings to you, too! May we fix our eyes on Jesus and His faithful love for us, not only in this season, but each and every moment!
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Trudy,
Love this: “It was more important to her to follow God and have His favor than gain the approval of people.” I also prayed the powerful prayer you wrote. Merry Christmas and may Christ be born anew in us this year. Love and hugs and blessings 🙂
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Thank you, Dolly. Yes, may Christ be born anew in us! Love, hugs, and blessings to you, too! May we open our hearts more and more to God and His love and may we trust His way!
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May I always, always remember this too: “It was more important to her to follow God and have His favor than gain the approval of people.” Thanks, Trudy. May you have the best Christmas yet!
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I need to remember that always, too, Lisa.May we surrender our hearts and lives to Him! I hope you may have the best Christmas yet as well! It will be fun to watch your granddaughter experience her first Christmas. 🙂
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Mary’s story never ceases to inspire me! We all have an important role to play in HIStory! Happy Christmas, sweet friend!
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Same here, June. I think it has hit me deeper this year and made me question how much I have really opened my heart to God and His way. I’m afraid there are still too many corners that hold onto my way and to people approval. I love your reminder that we all have an important role in HISstory. Thank you. Happy Christmas to you, too! May we surrender our bodies, hearts, and souls fully to God and His way!
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