Having a Baby Isn't Easy!

 

“And Mary said, “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has begun to rejoice in God my Savior,”  Luke 1:46-47

A dear young lady, whom I love, fears the discomfort and pain of child bearing. This affects her to the point that she has stated emphatically for years that she will not have children. If she were faced with this same angel telling her she was about to have a child, I’m not sure her response would be the same as Mary’s.

The angel wasn’t telling Mary that something fun and easy was about to happen. This task appointed to her involved both physical discomfort and pain, but more pointedly, social ostracism and danger. In her day, to be found pregnant outside of wedlock typically resulted in being stoned to death. Not to mention the reaction of her community, she was engaged to be married! What would her fiancé have to say about her turning up pregnant? What would this mean for the future of her life? This revelation would take her down a completely different path than she had ever imagined.

Despite this, Mary’s response wasn’t to ask like Moses, "O my Lord, please send anyone else whom you wish to send!" Instead, she rejoiced! She sang a beautiful song, praising God for His faithfulness. Clearly, she had learned of and trusted God’s goodness. She saw that, if God was able to miraculously make her pregnant without a man, then He was also capable of caring for her and her baby in whatever way He saw best. She trusted in God’s mysterious plan. She didn’t know that God would work it out between her and Joseph. From the place she was at, this was still up in the air. She didn’t know that she would go on to have more children, that her family would grow up together, that Jesus would see to her provision even beyond His physical caring for her on earth. She didn’t know anything except for what the angel had told her, “You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.” And, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God.” And finally, “For nothing will be impossible with God."

Here's the Thing: Mary didn’t know how God would work things out, but she trusted that He would. May we all learn from her young faith and apply it to our lives!

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