Daily Devotional for Saturday, December 6

The Submission by Mary

“And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her,” Luke 1:38.

One of the rules in our home is no phones, televisions or computers in the kids’ bedrooms upstairs. There was an instance when one of the kids wanted to use his computer in his room to do some homework. We referred to the rule and told him to do his homework downstairs. “But I don’t know why it’s a big deal!” he said. Of course, he could not see all of the factors that went into making that decision. He only understood what he wanted and what he felt in that moment. As a child, we cannot possibly understand all of the outcomes of our choices or all of the ways our parents protect us by establishing boundaries. As God’s children, we cannot see the big picture. We must simply be obedient.

When God sent Gabriel to deliver the message of the coming Christ to Mary, she could not possibly understand the implications of being the mother to the Son of God. She could have easily come up with excuses as to why someone else needed to be chosen. Confusion probably does not begin to describe what she was feeling at that moment. Fear probably crept into her spirit as well, knowing that unwed mothers could be stoned to death (Deuteronomy 22: 20, 21). Instead of questioning the will of God or allowing the confusion and fear to take over, she humbled herself as a servant. Her response to the angel showed her acceptance of both the responsibility and the unknown outcomes of this message, just as a servant to a master. She recognized her position in relation to the Almighty, a handmaid who meekly and completely submitted to her Master.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Are you obedient to Scripture? What is God asking you to surrender to Him? Take some time in prayer today asking God to reveal how you need to demonstrate obedience.

Ashley Ridings