07 01 08 Ready, Willing, and Humbled

“But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary. God is very pleased with you. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king like his father David of long ago. He will rule forever over his people, who came from Jacob's family. His kingdom will never end.’ ‘How can this happen?’ Mary asked the angel. ‘I am a virgin.’ The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come to you. The power of the Most High God will cover you. So the holy one that is born will be called the Son of God. Your relative Elizabeth is old. And even she is going to have a child. People thought she could not have children. But she has been pregnant for six months now. Nothing is impossible with God.’ ‘I serve the Lord,’ Mary answered. ‘May it happen to me just as you said it would.’ Then the angel left her.” (Luke 1:30-38 NIrV)

The anticipated Messiah would be born through a teenage virgin Jewish girl from Galilee, who was engaged to be married to Joseph (a descendant of the line of David). Wow! Imagine the excitement…the anticipation…even the fear! The Bible says Mary was greatly troubled and quite amazed at the angel’s words. It’s one thing to be living for God and anticipating great things, but this had to be amazing! Mary was READY, WILLING, AND HUMBLED to be used by God.

I know there are times when we can’t wait to be used by the Lord. We desire to please Him. We are so WILLING. We fast, we pray, we really think we’re READY. But are we really ready? Are we ever really prepared for what God will do? I believe the very key to be used of God is to be HUMBLED. I can’t believe Mary ever thought she would be the one to birth our Savior. But she did the groundwork in her faith, her service and her attitude before God.

I have learned over the years that I will never be worthy of any work for the Lord. I deserve to go to hell in a hand basket, as they say, based upon my life’s work. It’s only through His grace and mercy that I breathe today, much less find myself serving Him in ministry. I was always READY and WILLING to work, but at times I wanted the lime light that I thought came with it! Over the past 15 years He has HUMBLED me year by year…day by day…and even minute by minute! God still desires a broken heart and a contrite spirit!

Have you been HUMBLED? Many of the greatest servants of God have never been in the spotlight. They toil, labor, and sacrifice behind the scenes; saving lives, caring for children, feeding the homeless, and working 18-24 hour days with no one knowing but those closest to them. I have been so blessed to have seen this every day for the last 15 years in my pastor, his staff and family.
Mary’s response to the enormous task from God (after asking “HOW”) was not, “I can’t do this”, nor “This should get me on the Oprah show”. Rather, she replied:

“I serve the Lord...‘May it happen to me just as you said it would.”