May it be to me as You have said!

I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:38)

Praise God that Mary was obedient to His request that she, yet a virgin, would bear the Son of God in her womb! As I contemplate the birth of our Savior this Christmas season, I am amazed at just how obedient she was and what a personal risk she would undertake for the Lord.

I wonder if I could take such a step of faith. I know in my own walk I struggle to give God the easiest things, I can’t imagine myself trusting Him with the dedication of Mary. Why do we find it so difficult to trust, in the safety of our cushy lives?

The word trust “peitho” in the Greek language means “to rely upon, to have confidence in or to believe in.” Trust leaves us with four options in which we can place our confidence or on which we can believe, material objects, other people, ourselves, and, if we are believers, God. Most often trust in the first two leads to disappointment and sometimes a great deal of pain. This leaves only to trust in our own ability or God’s. Herein lies our dilemma, it cannot be both, so we must choose to trust completely in ourselves or in our Creator.

Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” Psalm 62:8 confirms, “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” As believers, we really have but one choice and that is to trust our Father. He created us, to love and be in relationship with us, and He gave his most prized possession, His Son, to die a horrible death for the redemption of our sins. How could we question his love and his ability to accomplish the things we give to him in prayer? Yet we do.

I believe the root of our inability to fully trust God lies in our separation from Him resulting from “original sin.” Even though we are saved through the blood of Jesus, the remnant of the shame of original sin still haunts us. We continue to allow ourselves to move back toward self-reliance and away from God-reliance. Self-discovery and our belief that we control our own destiny, hold us back from fully giving ourselves over to God’s will for our lives.

We must continually renew our minds by constantly pulling away from the world order and remain in God’s perfect will for our lives (Romans 12:2). It is only then that we can say and live what Mary said, “I am the Lords servant, may it be to me as you said.”

My prayer. Forgive me Lord for my lack of trust in You, the only one who truly has my best interests at heart. I love you Father and know that you alone know Your perfect will for my life. Let my life be of complete and useful service to you, help me to step out on the water and trust that you will lead me across the surface in perfect agreement with your will and for the advancement of your Kingdom. I pray in earnest and with humble repentance for ever doubting your trustworthiness. In Jesus name! Amen