What Did Mary Do?...
Mary was a virgin girl
engaged to Joseph when an angel appeared to her. He brought a life-changing
message to her; the Holy Ghost would overshadow her and she would carry the
seed of God, and bring forth Christ to the world. Its wonderful news when you
look at it from one end, and then from the other end it’s a challenge. Conceiving
a child out of wedlock in an age where twerking
wasn’t what made you an acceptable lady… there were consequences that spanned beyond gossip and suspending you from the choir.
No one would believe her
story, that she was a virgin with child and she risked being stoned to death,
especially if her fiancé denied responsibility. Adultery was punishable by
death in the Mosaic Law. Talk about risks. It was a time of difficulty, and
probably judgment and scorn.
I was reading Luke 1 again
and Mary’s reaction to this news was awe-inspiring. I mean she certainly knows
more than I do what the potential consequence could be for her, especially if
God who gave this unusual gift didn’t show up for her. Her response to this? Mary
sang a song of praise; she worshiped God right in the midst of her uncertainty
in regards to the judgment of the society and the reaction of her fiancé Joseph.
She was focused on the end result, the promise and not the hurdles she would
have to cross to get there. It wasn’t a spontaneous praise in the heat of the
moment when the angel was there… this was after she must have reflected on
everything… the good and the bad and what lay ahead for her on the path of
birthing a savior to the world. It must have scared her. But she chose to
worship.
Mary’s song of worship
popularly referred to as the magnificent in the message translation…
I’m bursting with God-news;
I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.
God took one good look at me, and look what happened—
I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.
His mercy flows in wave after wave
on those who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
scattered the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
pulled victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
the callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;
he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.
It’s exactly what he promised,
beginning with Abraham and right up to now. Luke 1:46-56
How many of us can rise above
our fears and the odds against us and worship God for what He’s doing? To move
beyond whining at the obstacles you face and praise and worship Him in the
midst of all you face on your way to the promise? Don't beat yourself down if you've been whining, this is just a wake up call to worship.
Most times carrying Christ
and Christ inspired dreams to your generation isn’t so easy. There’s so much
planted within us… dreams that are bigger than us and all it takes to kill our
obedience to God to step out in the impossible is the reaction of people, these
people could be anyone from our family to best friends, mentors and even
strangers.
There’s a backlash, there’s
lack of support, not everyone sees your God given vision as you do, because
well, it’s something that’s unconventional, so not everyone would rise to
support it, in fact opposition and discouragement would come. Sometimes it
would be a time of difficulty, and labor when you’re running with a vision, a
whisper only you can see and hear.
How hard has it been
achieving your God given dream? How hard has it been carrying the seed placed
within you that’s getting ready to be birthed to the world? The roadblocks, rejected
proposals, financial restraints, lack of moral support, and the sacrifices of
things you have to give up on to make room for this dream? It’s not been easy
but you’re still standing, right? That does prove that the power that gave you
that vision is the same that’ll keep you through. Learn from Mary, learn that
it’s not the time to whine, take a cue from Mary and praise in the midst of it.
Worship in the heat of the moment, trust the one who overshadowed you and
planted the seed in you. It’s your own way of birthing Christ to your
generation. Be in in business, ministry… your passion/talent… anyway.
Remember the words spoken to Mary
and rise up to tell yourself always, Hail (Joy), thou that
art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women (the
people of the world). Luke 1:28
The
Lord is with you, and He favors you, and He has blessed you amongst the people
of the earth, how can you fail? When the trials come, how can they overwhelm
you? When you walk through the fire, how can it consume you? When the flood
comes, how can you drown? The Lord is with you, do not be afraid, Mary (Joy), for you have found grace (free,
spontaneous, absolute favor and loving-kindness) with God. Luke 1:30(AMP)
It’s
time to worship…
Hail (Grannie), thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women (the people of the world). Luke 1:28
ReplyDeleteAmen!!
Word In Season!God Bless You!
ReplyDeleteUplifting post.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever considered featuring in magazine columns, or going more mainstream? Perhaps even having a compilation of your many inspiring and refreshing articles in a book. You do well with the pen and I feel asides the financial and non-financial benefits that accrues to increased popularity, the words you put down are what many people need to hear.
Truly inspiring and a word in season.
ReplyDeleteLoved this so much. Thank you.
ReplyDelete