Christian Devotional - Mary

Believe it or not, the Christmas holiday is quickly approaching. As we start to get caught up in planning, gifts, and meals, I want to take the time to go through the first Christmas story so we can keep our focus on the most important reason for celebrating.




Today we’re going to start by looking at Mary and her life and journey. We find out her story in Luke 1:26-38.




Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.




And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 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 name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”




Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and he said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old angel and she who was called barren is no in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.








Young Mary, some scholars think she was as young as 13 or 14 years old, probably thought she knew where her life was headed before she met that angel. She was betrothed to Joseph. We know that she was living in Nazareth and that the angel referred to her as “favored.” We can assume that she was obedient and faithful to the promise of God and that while she was not perfect and was not divine, she had been chosen for a specific and important purpose.




What was her response to this heavenly visitor with an incredible and overwhelming responsibility for her? Mary acknowledged her obedience and her willingness to do whatever God had planned for her.




This week, as just start the Christmas holiday season, focus on obedience in the face of the unknown. The Christmas story that we know now, started with a young girl’s obedience in the face of the unknown. We can try to plan and try to organize as much as possible, but we make decisions every day with some certainty of the unknown.




What are we being asked to do by God? What do we feel impressed to do? What is our calling and opportunity to be obedient to God? This week, focus on our obedience to God and to His plan, even when it goes against our original plan, even when we can’t completely see the outcome.




Mary wasn’t alone on her journey of obedience. God brought her together with a special man and next week, we’ll take a look at his introduction to God’s plan.




Kristi Burchfiel, Christian devotional author and speaker

Living in the World – Living out the Word

Check out my website and daily devotions either on my blog or on my Facebook pagewww.BooksByAmanda.com