A willing heart

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant.

May everything you have said about me come true.”

And then the angel left her.

Luke 1:38 (NLT)

            Mary; chosen by God to bear His Son. Who would have blamed her if she’d balked at the LORD’s plan? After all, this child would skew her plans. She anticipated the sly looks, the raised eyebrows as the neighbors whispered about her “hasty and private” wedding. She knew they would notice her growing belly and make their own conclusions. Yet Mary humbled herself under God’s hand, surrendering her future to His plan.

            Mary’s story is one of submission and willingness. She realized life would never be the same again, yet she accepted God’s sovereign purpose because she knew she could fully trust Him. “Mary did not always understand. But one does not have to understand to be obedient.  Instead of understanding – that intellectual understanding which we are so fond of – there is a feeling of rightness, of knowing, knowing things which we are not yet able to understand.” (1)

            We don’t need to know all the who, how, where, when, and why of God’s ways because our human minds will never fully comprehend what God has ordained long ago. He simply asks that we trust Him and serve Him with willing hearts. We may not understand this side of eternity but we will fully understand when we stand in His presence and hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Thought: “Faith is the willingness to risk anything on God.” – Jack Hyles

(1) A Willing Heart – Jack Hyles, Let’s Go Soul Winning, Dake Publishing 1980