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

We are often asked to do something we don’t want to do. It could be that we don’t want to get out of our comfort zone.  It could be that we fear the incrimination if we take on something and fail.  Or, it just could be that what is presented to us feels like more pain than gain.  But, we also know that the power of saying “Yes” when presented with an opportunity can be what opens up a new and unforeseeable path for us. We should never be reckless, but we shouldn’t just dismiss something new and challenging out of hand. You just never know.

Nothing in our human history that I can think of where the answer “Yes” has had more of an impact than when Mary said, “Yes”.  With her yes, she agreed to bring the baby Jesus into the world.  Imagine had she shied away, that she didn’t want the pressure, or she wanted to avoid the disgrace and confrontations?  Or, if she just hadn’t believed that this would be in her best plans for her life?  This Christmas, we may hear God in the midst of everything else going on around us, asking to come into our lives in a deeper or different way than we have allowed Him in the past.  In that moment, let’s remember the example of Mary,  the power of the yes said by her and then see if we can’t apply that to our own lives.

Reference: Luke 1:38 (New Living Translation)