Luke 1:26-38 (ESV)
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 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. 36 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. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 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.
Behold, I am the servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word. – Mary (Jesus’ mama)
The first month of the race, I sat with my squad during a listening prayer activity in which the focus was to hear what the Lord was saying about you. I sat and sat and sat and heard again and again “oh you of little faith”. Insert a mega-huge eye-roll when we reconvened to discuss what the Lord affirmed or called out in ourselves and it seemed everyone who piped up had heard, “beloved” or “redeemed” or “pure”. Little faith?
The second month of the race I watched healings that I thought belonged exclusively in the Bible happen, once on my own body. I watched prophetic words be confirmed in scripture and in life. I watched almost from the outside as I searched for truth and God called me out of you-of-little-faith kind of woman and into a go-your-faith-has-healed-you kind of woman.
Month three felt a lot like sanctification. Felt a lot like learning more of the Lord’s character. Felt a lot like learning parts of my identity that were beginning to be more real, more believable to me; that I am redeemed, for he has called me by name (Isaiah 43:1).
Coming to Antigua it’s month 4 of my documented-intense-holy-set-aside-time to beg God to reveal to me more of what being a woman of greater faith means. Walking on 7th Avenida in Antigua, feeling the Lord convict me to pray over a man that was a bit more in public than other people I’d prayed for that day, looking a little less approachable than other people I’d prayed for that day, and then walking away without doing so and feeling the sinking pit in my stomach of Holy-Conviction said surrender. This month is learning surrender. Again.
Celebrating Christmas this year in an area that is of predominantly Catholic influence has drawn my attention again and again to Mary, the young and humble mother of Jesus, and what it means to be a living sacrifice. So naturally after suppressing the desires of the spirit to defer to the desire of my flesh as to avoid facing rejection, I stumbled into a church. I physically bumped into a nativity scene. Jesus is not yet in the picture (saved for Christmas Day) so clay-figure Mary and I just stood there making eye contact. Thanks God for subtle confrontation.
Mary who counted herself only a servant of the Lord accepted whatever the cost would be to bring the Savior. No matter if that cost would be losing her fiance, rejection by her community or being called a liar.
It takes humiliation to bring God to earth, ask His mom.
The ever wise and young Mary, a Woman-Child-God Favored Human knew that it’s supposed to hurt to die to self, knew it so well she gave even her youth, her reputation, her stability with her betrothed! She submitted even to the sure knowledge that humiliation was coming! Do I believe that, “The sufferings of the present time are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us?” (Romans 8:18). I can not harbor more fear of rejection than reverence of the Lord.
Month 4 is ego death. Month 4 is such assurance in my divine spiritual identity that I can step away from flesh identity. From fear. Month 4 is stepping out in the boldness that the Lord of the Universe is more important than a dirty look, or a remark in Spanish, or in English , or a human rejection, or my own blood being shed for the kingdom- more important than anything at all!
Because it takes humiliation, all you favored ones, to bring God to earth! Mary knows!
