By Stu Schaefer
We often think about reliance, or reliability when we think about God.
He has called us into a relationship with Him, and one of the first thoughts along the way is … can I rely on or trust Him? At the root of any meaningful relationship is this idea of trust and reliance.
Learning about God, who He is, what He has done with others, and what He has to say to you is all part of reading the Word. He invites us into a relationship. It all started in the Garden, and then this thing called sin messed that up for all of us. After stating in many ways throughout the Old Testament that He would send a Deliverer, a Redeemer, a Savior, Messiah … the God’s people had to wait. Sit, Wait, and Listen…
Then, after 400 years of silence, at least between the pages of the Old Testament and the start of the New… things began to happen. Angels began to appear to people and deliver strange and pretty unbelievable messages. A star shone over Bethlehem. Rumors started to fly of a young woman that got pregnant outside of marriage, and she swears she is still a virgin!
The last part of those 4 things God mentioned was to follow…
What does it take to follow someone? Especially if you have little or no idea where you are going or how to get to where you want to be!!
If an angel were to show up in your room, and deliver a message to you about how your life was going to be tossed upside down… how would you respond?
It was clear to me that the young virgin Mary already had a relationship with God that we are not really told about, because how on earth could she have responded to what that angel said unless she was already trusting God enough to follow.
Can you imagine your response to an Angel of God that says God is going to change your life?
Her only question was how could it be possible that she could become pregnant!!
Listen to what she says to the Angel… “Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done to me according to what you have said.”
Can you tell me of a more perfect declaration of following? I was and still am in awe.
May we ALL declare as she did, and mean it as much as she did!