“But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:30-38)”
The impartation of the Word of God! Imagine, a messenger of God declaring the unfolding of God’s plan before you and speaking your significant role in that plan. What thoughts and interpretations Mary must have had as those words were spoken. She was about to agree to a pregnancy before her peers that was unexplainable. In her time, that meant having her wedding cancelled, being an outcast, possibly even stoned for fornication. Yet, she said, “I am the Lord’s servant.” She had to believe the path before her contained more than judgment and death; she had to envision herself standing at the right hand of her son as he defeated the Roman occupancy and seated himself on the throne of David. In order to face what was ahead, she had to see a bigger picture. Would Mary have agreed to the pregnancy if she were picturing Jesus’s torture and death? But 33 years later, the son she bore hung nailed to a cross! Where was the throne of David in his death? Where were the promises of God? Had she believed in vain? Then, on the day of Pentecost, while waiting in the upper room with the disciples, Mary once again received the life of the Son within her — the fulfillment of God’s promise to her.
How difficult it is for me to see the bigger picture sometimes. I receive a Word, and before I know it, I have fit it into a box of my own making. It is hard for me not to create a visual of Your promise as a goal, the purpose to my process. The vision becomes like a reckoning point to keep me on course. But when that vision seems to be dying before my very eyes, or moving outside my box, how do I keep from doubting? I wrestle with unanswered questions. Did I not hear You correctly? Did I miss You? Was it all in vain? But no matter how I received Your Word or the Vision, the unfolding is not in my hands, but Yours. You knew my limited sight and chose me anyway. I must release even my perception of the vision to You. Your plan will unfold, but it does so Your way, Your timing. It is not a matter of, did I miss You, rather will I trust You? Will I hold to Your Word when the road ahead is blocked with detours? Will I be able to say, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me”?
Today, I release the vision I created in my heart to You. I pray for my eyes to see more possibilities than what my mind conceived and that Your purpose will unfold in my life with every step I take!