A Baby Changes Everything

A Series on Living in the Wilderness: Part 2
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 1:26-56 

[This is Part 2 in a series of looking at people who lived in the wilderness. Not necessarily the wilderness of nature, but the wilderness of life. In fact, there are times when we all feel like we are living in the wilderness. During those times, it’s important to remember that the Lord is faithful. That He loves you and is always with you.]

 

Getting married is one of those milestones of life that some people dream about for years. 

Every detail of the ceremony has to be perfect. Friends and family are invited to celebrate with you. Those same people bring gifts to help you get started on your new life together. It’s a beautiful celebration of love.

 

Mary, who was engaged to Joseph, may not have had all of those same hopes and dreams, but she most certainly wasn’t expecting to be visited by an angel. And definitely, was not expecting the message that he gave her.

 

³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² 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, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”  NIV

 

On the surface, this is an amazing promise! But Mary’s mind must have been racing and reeling trying to figure out how she, a virgin, would have a child. How would she explain this to Joseph, her parents, her neighbors, her synagogue? Also, in that culture, an unfaithful woman, could be divorced, or even stoned to death!

 

A baby… changes… everything. Obviously, Mary didn’t know the specifics of how this would change her life, but she embraced it in faith.

 

³⁸ Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.            NLT

 

The angel left her. She was alone with this new knowledge. I would imagine that Mary must have had conflicting feelings of shame, confusion, fear, her life spinning out of control, doubt (did she really see an angel or, if she did, will his promise come true). Whatever she was feeling, she knew that her life would never be the same.

 

Because of this, Mary lived in a wilderness for nine months and likely longer. The wilderness of an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, of escaping to Egypt, of the anger of Pharisees and religious leaders directed at her son and finally, of the crucifixion.

 

But in the beginning of living in that wilderness, Mary responded with these words.

 

“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
⁴⁷     How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
⁴⁸ For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
    and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
⁴⁹ For the Mighty One is holy,
    and he has done great things for me. NLT

 

There’s a song called “A Baby Changes Everything” by Faith Hill. It tells the story of how Mary may have felt about being a teenage girl that was unprepared for everything that was going to happen. But the final line is about how that baby changed the singer’s life.

 

My whole life has turned around
I was lost but now I'm found
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

 

The same could be true for you and me.

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

(Below is a link for the above song if you’d like to listen to it.)

 A Baby Changes Everything by Faith Hill

What Was God Thinking?

A Series on God’s Call to Ministry

Luke 1:26-38

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1%3A26-38&version=NIV;NLT

[Preface: How do you know what your calling in life is? Will you know from a big bang experience? Or will it come quietly, almost imperceptible? Will you be inspired by the stories of a visiting missionary; or a book that opens your eyes to the needs of a specific people group; or from your own life experience? This series is about God’s call to ministry for your life; what it means or doesn’t mean.]

It’s not unusual for a teenager to say “NO”! It’s not unusual for a teen to rebel against the authority of their parents; to try and take control of their own life; to flex their decision making muscles.

What if Mary had said “NO!”? What if she had told the angel Gabriel, “No thanks, I’m only a young teenage girl? I’ve got the rest of my life ahead of me.”? Do you think God had a Plan B? Did He have a short list of young virgin girls to call on?

And why did God choose Mary? After all, she was already engaged to be married. He must have realized how the neighbors would talk; how it would look; how scandalous it would be. What was God thinking?

Then there’s the whole thing about choosing a virgin from Nazareth in Galilee. Why didn’t he choose an up and coming girl from the city; from Jerusalem? Instead, He chose Nazareth where it was said, “Can anything good come from Nazareth”.

The only detail that God seems to have gotten right was choosing Joseph as the engaged husband to be. At least he was a descendant of David. Otherwise… what was God thinking!?!

To say that Mary was afraid, is no doubt a huge understatement. She was in the presence of an angel who was saying things that didn’t make any logical sense. In fact, what he said implied an unimaginable future for her.

Up to this point, her life was all planned out. She would get married to Joseph; raise their family; be a part of the community; and be a support to her husband in his carpentry business. Surprise! God had something else in mind.

³⁰ “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. ³² He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. ³³ And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”   NLT

You probably haven’t had an angel tell you to do something, let alone something that seemed crazy. God works that way a lot. He calls us to do things that we feel totally unprepared to do. But His promise is that He will always be with you; that the word of God will never fail.

When writing this devotional, I made a short list of things that the Lord has called me to do during my lifetime. They include things that I had no logical reason to do; no confidence to do; no experience to do. What was God thinking?

Using the link below, listen to the song by Faith Hill titled, “A Baby Changes Everything”. Then, consider how that baby has changed your life. And, like Mary, remember that “The Lord is with you and that His word never fails”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y0_wNPSOaw