Journey


Read  Luke1:26-38 "In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.  And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”  But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.  And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.  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,  and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”  And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 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.  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.  For nothing will be impossible with God.”  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."



Can you imagine that visit by Gabriel? There she was, a young woman, about to get married, about to start her life. She had plans, but then, Gods "will" stepped in.

That "will" took the vision that Mary had for her life and swept it away as quick as she could say "Behold".   By reading this passage, it appears that Mary was upstanding, that she revered God. I can also see that she was afraid of what people may say, especially her fiancĂ©. But she surrendered her fear and bowed to God's sovereignty, allowing the "will" of God to prevail.

She waited silently as God convicted Joseph to stay with her.  They began their journey to Bethlehem, where the Savior of the world would be born in a manger.  Which makes me think, if Jesus, King of all Kings, was set in a feeding trough as a newborn, then why do we question our circumstances, as if we deserve more?  Anyway, the journey ended with the North Star. It ended with the beginning. It ended with the birth of Jesus, the Son of God.

We too are on a journey. We are all traveling somewhere between birth and death.  In fact, the word journey means an act of traveling from one place to another. But if you look closely at the word, dissecting it, in the middle you will find another word..."our". Mary traveled, but she did not do it alone. She did it first and foremost with God as her strength, but God gave her a companion, Joseph. He gave her visitors. He allowed people like the wise men to make this trek with her. Maybe not at the same time, but who have journeyed too.

We are here together, and when Gods will smacks us upside of our lives, sometimes, the first thing we want to do is hide, but that's not what God intends, He wants us to journey...together. This is our walk. We need to stop being afraid to hold each other accountable. We need to love beyond our comfort. We need to invest in each other. We need to allow the anxiety of Gods will to be overshadowed by the faith of what we know is true.

I pray you all have a very Merry Christmas.  Remember to thank God, fist and foremost for each blessing in your life. Especially for the gift of His Son.

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