Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: Luke 1
Luke 1:38
And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
What if she had said no? She could have, for she had a free will. But she didn’t say no, she said, …be it unto me according to thy word. God can only use willing vessels. Mary was willing.
She was willing to endure the personal attacks, the rumors, the innuendos, the horrible words aimed at her. She was willing to perhaps lose Joseph, her beloved fiancé. He too had to exercise his free will to continue with the marriage, the hardships that they would surely face. She must have thought of this, “What if Joseph rejects me?” We cannot even imagine the thoughts, concerns, fears, and other considerations and emotions Mary must have encountered.
But she surrendered to God’s will for her life. Would you?
There are billions in the world today who have a God given purpose of life to fulfill. How many will surrender to it? For example, the Bible teaches that God desires every person to come to Him in repentance. II Peter 3:9 proves this: The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. This is clear. It is as clear as the angel telling Mary, And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. Luke 1:31 This is that to which Mary surrendered. Just as God’s will was for Mary to bring forth Jesus, God’s will is for every person to come to Him in repentance.
It is also, for example, God’s will to give thanks in everything, In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (I Thessalonians 5:18) To obey this one must surrender and give thanks for every thing. Not every easy thing, but every thing. Giving thanks for the good things of life is one thing, giving thanks for an enemy, the death of a loved one, a major heath diagnosis, a financial downturn, or a thousand other things that are difficult; giving thanks for them, not so easy. But that is God’s will.
Surrender is a word many dislike. But to those, like Mary, like the repentant, like those who give thanks in every thing, to those, surrender is a sweet first step in obedience to His will.
Remember the conversion of Paul. We’ll read about it when we get to the book of Acts. The first thing he asked of the Lord after accepting Him was …Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? (Acts 9:6) He surrendered to the Lord’s will immediately. In fact, even the Lord surrendered His will to the will of His Father. On and on we could go.
Suffice it to say, God uses willing vessels that on purpose surrender to His will for their life. Make sure to know, whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you are, God has a purpose for you. The cost though of finding it is being willing to surrender to it. Mary did, Paul did, John did, Stephen did, throughout the 2,000 plus of the church age many have, and today many are. They are surrendering to God’s will for their life. Someday, perhaps soon, their willingness to live within the boundaries of God’s will for their life purpose will be rewarded. What a payday that will be!
Dr. William T. Howe
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