Where Mary Found Her Strength

Mary and her strength

Mary found her strength, and I am grateful. It is during the Christmas season when I think most of Mary. I remember her, not because she was divine or perfect, but because she was faithful. I know that, had I walked in her shoes, I would have wanted to be faithful.

And, during difficult days and sleepless nights, I would need reminders that helped me remember this call on my life.  I would need the assurance that God had indeed called me for this.

For Mary, there were times she could look back and see the hand of God, even when things were hard and when they didn’t make sense.  That is where Mary found her strength. Surely remembering those incidents carried her and gave  her strength to do what God asked of her.

Mary experienced three separate visits from three different persons. Certainly these visits were a catalyst and were another place Mary found her strength. Remembering gave her the power and strength to be the woman God called her to be!

No matter what ridicule she faced or pain she experienced when people rejected her Son, she could look back and trace God’s hand in her life. She recalled those monumental visits and knew God was indeed real.  He visited her!

An angel’s visit – where Mary found her strength

Gabriel’s visit to Mary, when Mary learns she has been chosen by God to do the virgin birth is another event that prepares her. On what was probably a normal day for Mary, she was visited by Gabriel. That visit changed her life – and our world.

Gabriel told Mary exactly what was going to happen.  Just as Gabriel  said it would be; it was. Mary would have a son, even though she was a virgin. Mary agreed to do a virgin birth.

Joseph was a man of integrity; he and Mary maintained purity during her entire pregnancy. Mary and Joseph named the child Jesus as God told them to do. They were obedient. They were faithful.

Simeon’s visit in the temple

In this visit, Mary finds another confirmation and foreshadowing of future heartache. Simeon’s visit gives Mary an insight into what will happen in the future. In their first visit to the temple, Mary is holding her infant child when Simeon comes into the temple.  He takes the infant from Mary and thanks God for allowing him to see the Messiah.  It is Simeon who tells Mary that one day, a sword will pierce through her own soul.

I am certain that, in the darkest day of Mary’s life, when she stood at the cross, she remembers that conversation.  She must know God’s hand is in this, for that sword is indeed piercing through her soul.

Mary’s visit to Elizabeth,

Mary’s visit to Elizabeth is a watershed moment that carries her through any doubt she faces. This visit is another way Mary found her strength.

Mary knows, before her baby’s birth, that He is indeed the Messiah. In her excitement after she learns that she will conceive of the Holy Ghost, she leaves her hometown of Nazareth and goes to the hill country to visit Elizabeth.

For hasn’t Mary asked Gabriel how she, a virgin, can bear a child?  And has Gabriel not told Mary that nothing is impossible with God?! Even now, the angel tells her, her cousin Elizabeth (barren and beyond childbearing years) is in her sixth month of pregnancy. Who else can better understand Mary than her own cousin who is also pregnant in a seemingly impossible happening?

When Mary walks into the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth,  it is Elizabeth who knows.  It is Elizabeth who confirms to Mary that she is carrying the God-child.  Mary doesn’t need to tell her, for Elizabeth knows!

“How can it be,” she says, “that the mother of my Lord would come to me?  For as soon as I heard your voice, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.”

If I were Mary, I would have carried that treasure with me everywhere I went. The baby leaped for joy because of the Messiah! And this is where Mary found her strength.

It wasn’t because of who Mary was; it was because of the Child in her womb.  That was confirmation enough that the Holy Ghost had come upon her, and that the power of the Highest had overshadowed her.

When neighbors or children ridiculed the Son born out of wedlock,  or when the crowds mocked her son, she still knew. Mary did not question that her Son was the Messiah.  She knew in her heart.

Mary also knew because of the baby in Elizabeth’s womb.  That unborn child leaped for joy! Can you imagine the wonder Mary felt at the words of Elizabeth?! I am certain that, if Mary ever doubted or wondered about this call, all she had to do was remember how that baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy. That was all the confirmation she needed.

What confirmations do you have of the work that God is doing in your life?!

It is Christmas. What a wonderful time to celebrate your past experiences and the evidence of His work in you!  What better way to find renewed strength to continue your journey into the New Year!