“See, I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary. “May it happen to me as you have said.” —Luke 1:38
For Mary that first Christmas, nothing was turning out “right.” She was a normal teenage girl with dreams of how everything should go. Mary could have clung to her own ideals and plans. Instead, she gave up control and centered her life around Jesus.
For all the honor of being chosen for this role in God’s story, there was just as much dishonor and sacrifice to Mary’s own personal story. Her life would be upturned, her plans and security threatened. Yet rather than objecting or panicking, Mary responded with sweet, trusting surrender.
The fact that she reacted this way immediately leads me to believe this wasn’t the first time Mary had said, “I am the Lord’s servant.” Turn-on-a-dime surrender doesn’t just happen. I’m guessing that in the weeks, months, and years leading up to this point, Mary had made a practice of saying, “May it happen to me as you have said.”
May we enter this Christmas season—and every day of every season—with this same disposition of surrender toward God.
Make it Personal
How can you make surrender to God a habit, in both big and little ways?