Obedience Through Faith And Trust In God

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:26-38

Have you experienced an unexpected blessing in your life yet still feel uncertain of tomorrow? Has God told you to completely trust in Him as your life begins to shift into the greater unknown? Mary, the mother of Jesus, was one of those who experienced such a moment.
Among the thousands of women who were present that day, Mary was the blessed one, for she was chosen to carry in her womb and nurture the Son of the Living God, Jesus Christ. She was chosen to give birth to God’s promise of salvation and life eternal for mankind. Such a privilege and honor it was! Even if she didn’t have full understanding and certainty of what was to happen in her life, Mary obeyed God and agreed to His will. Luke 1:26-38 shows us lessons to learn from Mary’s obedience.

Reading from Luke 1:26-38, you can see that Mary wasn’t expecting it at all when the Angel of the Lord appeared to her: “And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.”

Many times, like with Mary, God surprises us with His favors and blessings in a way that we don’t understand. For instance, a couple may not be expecting to have a baby yet, but then it happens, and the wife gets pregnant. Abraham is another example. When God called Abraham, he wasn’t prepared for that. He was in his old age when God told him to leave Haran and go to the place that God would show him before greatly blessing him (Genesis 12:1-4 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.) . In life, we can have instances like these wherein God’s blessings and favor in our lives will come as a surprise to us.

You can also read from Luke 1:31-34 that Mary was asked to do what was impossible to the human mind:

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

When God is about to bless you, it always requires your full trust and faith in Him alone. Many times, we miss out on God’s opportunity of blessing simply because we relied on our own understanding and logic. For instance, a man received a prophetic word that God would bless him a house of his own (meaning that God would supernaturally move through this world). So, this man thought that he must get a loan for a house of his own and ended up incurring huge debts that he couldn’t pay. By relying on your own understanding, you can miss out on what God truly intends for you.

Mary was told that she would conceive, but she was a virgin and was barely engaged. You see, when God tells you about an impossible promise or blessing, it is Him who will always provide and make the way, for that is how He gets to be glorified in your life. In the same manner, it was impossible for Mary to conceive a child, for she was a virgin, so the Angel of the Lord responded to Mary, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:35-36). God provided and made a way through the Holy Ghost, who did the impossible thing for Mary.

Lastly, Mary’s obedience gave birth to God’s promise fulfilled in the world through our Lord Jesus Christ. Mary obeyed God by willingly submitting unto His will: (“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 ). Because of her obedience and because she did not rely on her own understanding and simply trusted in God with her whole heart and mind, she made one of the greatest impacts in the life of mankind. She gave birth to the Savior of the World, the Lover of Souls, the Prince of Peace, King of kings and Lord of lords. By the obedience of one person, the whole world was given hope for tomorrow.

Today, God is looking for obedient sons and daughters like Mary who are willing to submit to His will by trusting and having faith in the Son of God, in the Holy Spirit, and in His Word to impact this world and carry His glory. Are you willing to be that one person who is willing to do the will of God even if it means trusting in Him and not relying on your own understanding?