12 Days of Christmas Devos: Mary and the Angel

Saturday, December 8, 2018


 "The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her." 
Luke 1:35-38 (NKJV)

The kids and I have been immersed in Luke 1 this advent season. We've been reading it slowly. There is so much packed in this first chapter. I noticed that we aren't given a lot of details about Mary. We know she is a virgine who is engaged to Joseph. We know the angel greets her with the adjectives highly favored and blessed. I love her response. She is left wondering, "what kind of greeting is this?"

I'm sure she was used to the usual "hey Mary, what's up?" in a first century, Middle Eastern way that is. The angel tells her not to be afraid and proceeds to tell her she found favor with God. Then he announces the birth of Jesus.

If we compare the previous block of Luke 1, we will see that Zacharias had an interchange of words with the angel. His response to the angel was a bit different than Mary's. He was slow to believe God's word. Mary was quick to believe.

When the angel told her "For no word from God will ever fail (verse 37)" she replied "I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled."

I noticed that every time an angel showed up, they didn't come to give suggestions. They had a clear command from God. As a matter of fact, angels obey the voice of God's word (Psalm 103:20). If an angel is ever presente, they are not hanging out, they are obeying direct orders from God.

I have no Biblical clues as of Mary's faith walk prior to her first mention in Luke 1:26. I do know that she must have been committed to serving God. Only a submitted her can hear a word from God and immediately say, I am your servant, may your word to me be fulfilled.

As we keep reading Luke, we know the process of fulfillment was not easy. Still, Mary and Joseph were focused on obeying God's word.

If you are a long time reader, you know that I believe in angels and in God's supernatural. Chances are, most of us in America are not going to have an interaction with angelic beings. They are present, we just won't see them 24 hours a day. What we do experience instead is the presence of God's word. He has given us promises. No word from God will ever fail. Do we have submission of heart to believe? Can we, like Mary, be quick to submit our lives to God's word and believe that it will be fulfilled?

I pray that this Christmas season will be marked by our complete submission to God's word. I pray that we will be quick to believe his word.

Previously in this Series
Day 1 (Luke 1:1-4)