Many miraculous events occur in the Bible which can be difficult to comprehend. God often calls His people to tasks they do not believe they are ready for, capable of, or worthy to perform, yet in the end He finds a way. He must know something we don’t!

I think Mary is a perfect example of this in the first chapter of Luke:

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

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.

~Luke 1:26-36

This would be an amazing honor to be visited by an angel of the Lord, especially Gabriel, and told that I am highly favored, and The Lord is upon me, but… as Mary may have been wondering (and surely me if I were in her shoes): what’s the catch?

Mary was familiar with her peoples’ history. With a messenger from God came an assignment. What was the Lord calling her to do and would she be able to accomplish it? Mary was being called to carry an incredibly heavy burden: she was going to carry the hope of the world in her womb.

This was the Messiah that had been prophesied in the prophet Isaiah’s writings at least 600 years before.

This is what God can do through Jesus. He can do the unimaginable, the miraculous! He sees beyond our self-criticism and low self-esteem and calls us into those He designed us to be. We are designed to impact the Kingdom, to bring help to the helpless and hope to the hopeless.

These scriptures speak so deeply to the hope that we can have in Jesus. God’s design is never flawed, and we can trust that when we follow Him, He will provide a way. 

Have you ever been called to do something that seemed impossible, something you felt you weren’t equipped for?

My personal calling is leadership. Men’s ministry specifically amongst other roles, but this was the one that felt most intimidating. Boy, did I not feel equipped. Never had I felt less worthy for a task. SOOO much doubt flooded in when I first stepped into this role, but I was reminded that I was following the assignment God gave me. This was for His glory and not my own. Someone once told me, “Ministry is messy” and they were right. There have been many challenges, but I’ve grown in my discomfort and I’ve seen God’s grace through it all. Jesus has instilled a hope inside of me and I am proud to be fighting for His Kingdom.

Dear Father,

I’m so grateful that You are a God who sees the best in me. You do not settle for my standards; you seek more and call me out of my comfort. Since I have been following Your Son Jesus, Lord I have seen my life change in a radical way. Lord I am grateful for Mary and the example she could be to me and all mankind, You do not have to be strong or known to have an eternal impact. Please allow me to continue to have an impact for the Kingdom on those around me, those I hold dear to my heart, and those I have yet to meet. You are a God of provision and I trust that You will provide when You call Your people on assignment. My Hope remains in You Lord.

AMEN