Wednesday, December 16, 2015

The Humility of Mary




“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. Luke 1: 38


This statement pronounced by young Mary over a couple of thousands of years ago continues to be one of the most profound affirmations of faith and one of the most powerful examples of trust spoken by a mortal that we find in all of the Scriptures. Mary’s simple words show the complexity of accepting God’s will in our lives. They show that for God’s will to be done, to be fulfilled in our lives we must surrender…we must first become the Lord’s servants…

That’s the revelation of true trust…we trust that God’s will is good…that it is perfect rather, so much so that we are ready to submit our own will to His. We do it because, even though we can’t really understand it, we know it is the best plan…it is the plan that will bring Him the glory…so we surrender to it…for the joy of our Lord is our strength. (Nehemiah 8: 10)

Mary’s words of acceptance are also a perfect example of humility.

Surrender takes an incredible amount of trust, confidence and reliance on the character and integrity of the one we are surrendering to. But it also takes a great amount of humility. We must be humble enough to accept the fact that this other person’s plan is better than ours even though it seems not just different but at times contrary to ours. We must be humble not just to accept it, but to submit to it. We must be humble not just to submit to it, but to become a servant for the fulfilment of the plan.

Mary’s words are truly convicting to me for often I have a hard time surrendering to God’s plan for my life and for the lives of my loved ones. I don’t have the patience to wait for the plan unfold, and then I panic when it begins to take an unexpected turn. But most of all, I lack the humility to accept His will cheerfully and see its deviations from mine not as punishment, but rather as an adventure I get to experience with Him. I lack the humility to accept the fact that His plan is better than mine. I lack the humility to accept the fact that He is in control. I don’t have the humility that takes to wait for God’s will to shine as it matures in me with every step I take.



After Mary expressed her humble acceptance of God’s designs for her life, she went to visit Elizabeth and prepared to wait for such designs to unfold. She had an idea of what was coming; but I believe most of it might have been a constant surprise. May we have the strength of Jesus to go through with God’s plan for our lives and the humility to accept it as perfect.

Linking with:  wholeheartedhome.com

2 comments:

  1. Gisela, your words, Mary's trust, humility, surrender touch me and convict me. I have been pondering Simeon, Anna, and Mary this Christmas and find that God is showing me such beautiful examples of ways He wants us to grow. Thank you for being available for God to use you here. The last sentence of your post, the line of prayer is a prayer for me.
    Caring through Christ, ~ linda
    @ BeingWoven.org

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    1. Linda, thank you so much for stopping by and leaving a comment. Trust me, I struggle with humility and surrendering, so God, in His Faithfulness, continues to teach me and love me through my short-comings. Hugs and blessings!

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