A Willing Heart - Devotions for 12-13-23

Luke 1:38 “And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it to be me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.”

            It is hard to imagine how strange and hard it was for the young lady Mary, likely a teenager, to believe and accept the message from God to her through the words of the angel Gabriel. The angel told her that she, while still a virgin, would conceive a child and bear a son who would be called “The Son of the Most High.”

            There are all sorts of things in the angel’s message that were problematic. First, the whole virgin getting pregnant thing. But if you believe in miracles, maybe you can accept that, but for someone else, not yourself, at least not easily for yourself.

            Talk about a huge change in plans. Whatever plans you were making for yourself, including an upcoming wedding, are suddenly either changed or threatened with possible issues. But that was just the most pressing issue with the words of the angel. What would Joseph think, and would he still want to marry her? What would her parents think? What would her friends think? Would she even be able to stay in her hometown or would she have to run off somewhere else to have this baby? There were all sorts of things to consider with being an unmarried pregnant teenager, especially in that time and culture.

            Then there was this whole thing about the baby being called the Son of the Most High and the Holy Spirit overshadowing her. Wow, this would have been so much for such a young person to take in. And yet, what is her response?

            After an initial questioning of how all that could possibly be, she says to the angel, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

            Wow, simple acceptance of the Lord’s will and work. Mary seems to simply understand that this is truly something from God and even though she cannot understand it or what it all will mean for her life, she shows that she is willing to do whatever the Lord wanted her to do.

            Simple acceptance of God’s will, no matter what!

            O how I wish I had that sort of simple understanding and acceptance of God’s will for my life. When I felt God’s call for me to become a pastor it took at least a year and a half to really accept it and even then, it took going through seminary for me to really believe it.

But Mary accepts this on-the-spot. There was no waiting period to think about it. No time to adjust her thinking. No time to ask friends, mentors, or relatives what they thought. No, Mary hears the words of the angel and accepts God’s direction for her life.

Mary had a willing heart. A heart willing to do whatever the Lord called her to do, no matter what. O that we all had a heart that open to the will of God in our life.

How open to God’s will in your life is your heart? What if God called you to something totally different, a brand-new direction for your life? How would you accept it? Could you learn about a big change for you and simply say, “Yes Lord” or would you be weary and slow to accept God’s will for your life?

Let us pray that God would mold our hearts to be more receptive to His will in our life, to become more like Mary when the angel told her about this huge thing God was going to do with her life. I believe we all need God to help us be more like Mary, more open to His will.

Pray that God would open your heart more and more to His will.

Pastor Gary.