I Am The Lord's Servant

Mop from The Story Devotional: Discover Your Role in God's Story

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is His name.” - Luke 1:38, Luke 1:46-49

How well do you change gears?

“But I just made dinner, and now you want to go out?”

“I had an outfit planned, and now it’s raining.”

The news the angel Gabriel brought Mary didn’t mean a mere change of gears. It meant a complete change of expectations for the entire course of her life. And her reaction was remarkable:

I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.

What an example to those of us who prefer familiarity to spontaneity! Mary humbly accepted this radical change of direction in her life. In trust, she yielded herself - her dreams, her plans, her very body - to the Lord. And then she celebrated in song the privilege of being used by Him in His Kingdom plan.

Lord, teach us to yield with grace and with faith to Your plans for us.

Can you imagine young Mary, a peasant girl of 12 or 13, and yet her heart was fully yielded to God as “the Lord’s servant” even though what Gabriel was announcing to her meant her entire life was now upended? How would you have responded? What would you have said to the angel in that moment?