May it be done to me according to your word.

Luke 1:26-56 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹ But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. ³⁰ The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. ³² 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; ³³ and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” ³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel answered and 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. ³⁶ And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ 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.

³⁹ Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰ and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? ⁴⁴ For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. ⁴⁵ And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

⁴⁶ And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, ⁴⁷ And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
⁴⁸ “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
⁴⁹ “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.
⁵⁰ “And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him.
⁵¹ “He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
⁵² “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble.
⁵³ “He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed.
⁵⁴ “He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy,
⁵⁵ As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.”

⁵⁶ And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

“Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” That was Mary’s response to hearing God’s plan to turn her whole world upside down. She asked only one of the hundreds of questions she probably had. “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The answer satisfied her, she had no farther objection, no trying to question or manipulate the plans of God to suit her own preferences. The angel answered and 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. ³⁶ And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Nothing will be impossible with God. Mary believed that, do we? Are we willing, like Mary to yield ourselves to the plans of God? Mary was told that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and she would conceive and carry within her, the Son of God. For nine months Jesus, the Son of God, lived in Mary. The child within her womb was subject to her. Mary is the only one to have ever known what it was to carry the baby Jesus. But, Jesus says in John 14:16-17:  I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; ¹⁷ that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.     We too carry within us God Himself, not in the bodily form of a baby, but in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit came upon Mary in order to conceive something within her. The Holy Spirit comes within us to conceive something through us.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says: if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  What is it that God wants to give birth to in our lives? Will we,  like Mary, say: “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.”?  Or will we choose to remain in control of our own lives, not willing to yield to God in us? God has given each of us a free will and with that free will we choose whether or not to set our own path or follow the one God has for us. God doesn’t reveal the fullness of His plan for our lives. There is a song which points out the things that Mary didn’t know about her future or the future of her child. “Mary Did You Know” by Clay Aiken:

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?

Mary did you know.. Ooo Ooo Ooo

The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.

None of us can know the fullness of what God wants to birth in us and through us. God says: For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11) Jesus says: Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.   The works that Jesus did, The blind will see. The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again. The lame will leap. The dumb will speak. The works of Jesus were also to love the unlovely, to serve our fellow man, to declare the good news of the kingdom of God. Mary said  “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the world was forever changed. Had Mary refused God, He undoubtedly would have found another willing servant. The same is true of us. If we will say yes Lord; may it be done to me according to your word, our world and the world around us will be changed. If we refuse or put off the plans of God for our lives, He will find another willing servant and we may never know what He wanted to birth in and through us.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, yes, I yield to You. I say as Mary said:   “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.”  Your will be done, Your kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven. I believe and I trust the plans You have for me. Thank You.   Amen.

Here’s a link to the song “Mary Did You Know”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oiw7hS4pzg