How often are we surprised at how Abba carries out His perfect plans?
Relations with Joseph…. awkward. Was Joseph a bit uncomfortable every time he was congratulated on their firstborn?
Relations with parents… weird. Did she tell her parents? Did they choose to keep silent because they needed the dowry (however meager) Joseph would have given in exchange for Mary? Maybe she was a private person and that worked to her benefit. We don’t know. Still, I can’t imagine keeping this secret from her parents, much less her parents being able to believe her.
The trip to Bethlehem… uncomfortable. On a donkey with a child due?
Giving birth in a dark, damp, smelly, cave… EWWW! I wonder if she cried from heartache that her Lord would be born in such a stinky dingy hole. Did she feel a bit alone, wishing she had an older woman beside her? Was God using this experience to force Joseph and Mary to bond and trust each other more?
The moves they had to make… lonely. Surely she dreamed of keeping house and raising Jesus in the town she was from, but that dream had to wait awhile longer.
When Jesus stayed behind at the Temple… embarrassment and terrifying! What if they lost God’s very Son? Talk about stressful...
Watching Jesus grow in favor with God and man... amazing.
Hearing the message from her firstborn, “Who is my mother and my brothers…” Shocking, painful.
Watching her son suffer pierced her heart. Had Jesus prepared her for that day? She had pondered the prophesy and struggled with God. Had Jesus prepared her for this moment, as He had tried to prepare His twelve closest friends?
Kneeling at the foot of the cross... weakness. How could she bear it? How hard it must have been to choose to believe YHWH was in this. Surely Abba gave her the strength to endure that day, as He gave Abraham the faith to offer up Isaac.
Abba God, thank You for providing Mary with the strength she needed to survive her life, just as You enabled those mentioned in Hebrews 11. Thank You for promising to help me as well. I’m so glad You are with me, always providing and keeping watch. Thank You for Mary’s example of endurance. Remind me when I feel weak, that You are faithful and help me just as You helped her. Thank You for reminding me that your plan is bigger than me, and I can trust You even when I don't understand. I ask especially that You sustain and comfort those who are grieving during this season. In Jesus’ name…
This week's reflections are based on Luke 1, NASB (click here to read online).
Mary didn't know how God's plan would play out.
Relations with Joseph…. awkward. Was Joseph a bit uncomfortable every time he was congratulated on their firstborn?
Relations with parents… weird. Did she tell her parents? Did they choose to keep silent because they needed the dowry (however meager) Joseph would have given in exchange for Mary? Maybe she was a private person and that worked to her benefit. We don’t know. Still, I can’t imagine keeping this secret from her parents, much less her parents being able to believe her.
The trip to Bethlehem… uncomfortable. On a donkey with a child due?
Giving birth in a dark, damp, smelly, cave… EWWW! I wonder if she cried from heartache that her Lord would be born in such a stinky dingy hole. Did she feel a bit alone, wishing she had an older woman beside her? Was God using this experience to force Joseph and Mary to bond and trust each other more?
The moves they had to make… lonely. Surely she dreamed of keeping house and raising Jesus in the town she was from, but that dream had to wait awhile longer.
When Jesus stayed behind at the Temple… embarrassment and terrifying! What if they lost God’s very Son? Talk about stressful...
Watching Jesus grow in favor with God and man... amazing.
Hearing the message from her firstborn, “Who is my mother and my brothers…” Shocking, painful.
Watching her son suffer pierced her heart. Had Jesus prepared her for that day? She had pondered the prophesy and struggled with God. Had Jesus prepared her for this moment, as He had tried to prepare His twelve closest friends?
Kneeling at the foot of the cross... weakness. How could she bear it? How hard it must have been to choose to believe YHWH was in this. Surely Abba gave her the strength to endure that day, as He gave Abraham the faith to offer up Isaac.
Abba God, thank You for providing Mary with the strength she needed to survive her life, just as You enabled those mentioned in Hebrews 11. Thank You for promising to help me as well. I’m so glad You are with me, always providing and keeping watch. Thank You for Mary’s example of endurance. Remind me when I feel weak, that You are faithful and help me just as You helped her. Thank You for reminding me that your plan is bigger than me, and I can trust You even when I don't understand. I ask especially that You sustain and comfort those who are grieving during this season. In Jesus’ name…
This week's reflections are based on Luke 1, NASB (click here to read online).
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