Saturday, December 7, 2024  //  Day 7

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “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 called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. —Luke 1:26–38

We’ve all had moments when life seemed to be going as planned – until suddenly, everything changed. This was undoubtably one of those moments for Mary. Here she was, a young woman from a small town living a quiet life. She was young, betrothed, and probably didn’t realize she was on God’s radar. Yet, this ordinary day would suddenly become quite extraordinary as an angel of the Lord delivered the message that God Himself, through the work of the Holy Spirit, would bring forth the long-awaited Savior through Mary’s womb.

After Gabriel explains all that would take place, he reminds Mary that God had already done the impossible with Elizabeth, who was once barren but was then six months along. Gabriel reminds Mary that “nothing is impossible with God” (v.37) to which Mary responds, “Behold, I am a servant of the Lord; let it be according to your word” (v.38).

In one faith-filled moment, she humbly accepts God’s plan for her life and chooses to trust God. This is not because she understood every detail of His plan, but because she knew who God is and trusted His character.

Where in your life could God be asking you to trust Him? How might He be inviting you to let go of your plans so you can surrender to Him?