Has God ever asked you to do something you never expected to do or put you in a situation you did not understand? Have you ever wondered what good could come or how you might survive the circumstances?
I was reading the scripture below and thinking about when I went to the theater to watch the movie The Nativity Story I was amazed by the total faithfulness and willingness of Mary. Imagine the strife she had to endure, the name calling, the shunning....It did not matter to Mary because she knew and God knew what the real story was.
We tend to get so caught up in the world and what people think of us, we start forgetting what God thinks...what He knows to be true. What we know to be true.
I have been having this "situation" with a person, and it has made me feel uncomfortable. In my flesh I just want to get away from the person, I don't understand their motives, It hurts my feelings when they are not nice. I do not want to endure any of the feeling it brings up in me, or even to have to be put in the situation. This is not really an option for me though. And I do know that God puts me in places He wants me...for a reason, a purpose.
This is just a very small example of being in a situation and having the ability to let Christ rule or let myself rule. I have let myself rule quite a bit in the past, and frankly it is quite stressful. I am praying each day to let God be in control of it. I also know that my actions and my words are going to have a lasting effect on this person spiritually. I cannot "talk the talk" and not "walk the walk". As I read about Mary in the scriptue below... and I think of what she endured and yet her attitude was, her words were; " I am the handmaiden of God, So let it be done according to me as you have said." . She didn't care what people thought or said or how they treated her. She had faith in God, and His plan. She allowed herself to be used as God saw fit for the benefit of others.... for His ulitmate plan. She held her head up high and professed her faith.
I want to be like Mary.
Luke 1:27-37 "... and the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazerth. 27 To a girl never having been married and a virgin engaged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, Hail O favored one! The Lord is with you! Blessed are you before all other women! 29 But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled and disturbed and confused at what he said and kept revolving in her mind what such a greeting might mean. 30 And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace (free, spontatneous, absolute favor and loving-kindness) with God. 31 And listen! You will become pregnant and will give birth to a Son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 31 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; ... 34 And Mary said to the angel, how can this be, since I have no husband (no intimacy with any man)? 35 Then the angel said to her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you and so the Holy Offspring which shall be born of you will be called the Son Of God. 37 For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment. Then Mary said, Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done to me according to what you have said. And the angel left her."
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