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. 39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord (Luke 1:36-45).”
Mary was a little concerned. Wouldn’t you be? Gabriel just told her that she was going to have a baby. Mary, just like Zechariah, questioned the angel. Mary was a virgin and it was physically impossible for her to have a child. Even at thirteen years old she knew it was not possible. It seems like a legitimate concern to me. Zechariah did the same thing. He questioned the angel because Elizabeth was advanced in age and could not bear children. So, what did the angel do? Gabriel provided confirmation for Mary and told her about her Elizabeth. Mary made the trip to see Elizabeth and all was confirmed…nothing is impossible with God.
Mary was a servant. What was Mary’s response to Gabriel’s message? She said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Mary didn’t become a servant of the Lord once Gabriel came to her. She was a servant before he came to her. She was a devoted follower of God and lived a life that pleased Him. She was subject to Him, followed Him, and trusted that Gabriel’s message came from Him. Could that be said of you? Are you a servant of the Lord? Nothing is impossible with God.
Mary was submissive. She told Gabriel to, “let it be according to your word.” It is one thing to serve the Lord, but it is another to completely submit to His will for your life. If it were me (and I were a girl, which I’m not), I probably would have said, “Hey, let’s think about this for a minute. Are there any other options? Is there anyone else you could choose? I’m only thirteen. I’m young. I’m engaged to a great man. What will people think? What will my parents think? What will Joseph think?” Not Mary. Mary was submissive. There was no hesitation in her response. Given the same circumstance, would you be that submissive? Given your current situation in life, are you submissive to God? Submitting to God means that you have to no longer live for yourself. Submitting to God means following Him completely. Nothing is impossible with God.
Mary had great faith. Elizabeth said, “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” Notice the word “believe.” Mary believed. She had great faith. It is one thing to believe that God will take care for your needs. It is another thing to believe that God would make it possible for you to become pregnant while still a virgin. Nevertheless, Mary believed. Do you have that kind of faith? Do you have faith that God will do exceedingly and abundantly above all that you might think or ask? It wasn’t difficult for Mary to have faith because she was already a servant of the Lord. What kind of faith do you have? On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest, where would you rate your faith? I think if we were all honest, we would say we struggle with this from time to time. We can learn from Mary. Pray that God would increase your faith today and that He would cause you to have an undeniable desire to study His word. Nothing is impossible with God.
Mary was a servant, she was submissive, and she had great faith. Remember, nothing is impossible with God.