Skip to main content

Is that Right?

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you… you have found favor with God” (Luke 1:28 and 30) she must had been expecting something good!

Then Gabriel says, “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus” (ver 32). This is not exactly the news Mary would have been expecting. In fact, it is terrible news!

How was she going to explain this? In those days, an unmarried woman who was expecting a child was to be put to death! Not to mention the fact that she had to explain that this child was going to be brought by the Holy Spirit (verse 35). All of this must have left Mary thinking, “How can this be God’s plan?”

She would not, however, be the first one to ask that.

Think about Noah building his great big boat, for years and years (Genesis 6). Do you think that maybe some of his neighbours thought that he had lost his mind?

What about Abraham? He gets up one morning and announces that he is moving. When his friends ask where he is going he tells them that he does not know because God has not told him yet (Genesis 12).

Think about Moses. He comes in from shepherding his flock to tell his father in law that a burning bush told him to go to Egypt to demand that the most powerful man alive release a bunch of slaves (Numbers 3). Interesting!

Then there is Joshua. Leading the army into a new country, he comes upon a city with a very large wall. How will they get in? Will they ram it, sneak over it, or dig under it? No! Joshua says that God told him to walk around it and blow their horns! (Joshua 5)

One of the things that you will learn as you read the word of God is that, “God’s plan often does not look like it could be God’s plan”.

My point: If we are always playing it safe and doing what makes sense, I wonder if we are really following God or just ourselves.

Not every crazy idea is from God, but sometimes being faithful means taking some risks and doing the “right thing” and not just the “sensible thing”.

Just ask Mary!

“’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD” (Isaiah 55:8).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    
Post a Comment
Read more

New Article: A Path Worth Following

  Jehoram was a terrible king.  He reigned in Judah around the year 850 B.C. and he did not care about God or his people.  His first act as king was to assassinate his six brothers so that no one could challenge his authority.  He was brutal and selfish.   Therefore, when the Bible sums up his life, it says, “Jehoram… passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David” (2 Chronicles 21:20).  Did you catch that?  “To no one’s regret!”  What a terrible phrase for your tombstone. On the other hand, consider a lady named Tabitha.  She lived in the city of Joppa in the first century A.D. and we are told, “… she was always doing good and helping the poor” (Acts 9:36).  She became sick and died.  This caused the community so much grief that they called Peter, who was in the nearby town of Lydda, to come and help them.  When Peter arrived, a crowd gathered, bringing all the robes and other clothing that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This: Press The Button!

  Consider This:  Press the Button! My favourite TV game show is Jeopardy.  I used to like it even more when my kids were younger, because I could easily beat them and look smart.  These days, after they have grown up and gone to university, it is much more difficult.  However, Jeopardy is still the only game show I will watch. In a book I read, a contestant who did very well on the show shared the secret to his success.  He said (and I am paraphrasing here), “You must press the button before you know the answer.  Everyone on Jeopardy is smart. Everyone knows the answer. The key to winning is to act.  You must jump in and press the button, assuming that your brain will catch up and supply the answer.  If you wait until you are sure, you will be too late!” Press the button! Too often, we hesitate, not because we do not know what to do, but because we do not want to do it.  Sometimes, we fail to act because we are not sure how the situatio...
Post a Comment
Read more