The Power of YES
A teenage girl named Mary was hanging around her house one day doing whatever it was 1st century teenagers did: chores, sweeping, laundry, cooking, school work. An angel shows up IN HER HOUSE! I know we read the Christmas story practically every year. I know that most of us with any real age on us have seen Charlie Brown’s Christmas and heard Linus read the story a gazillion times. But think about this for just a minute. An angel showed up in the house! Wow! Zowee! Get out of town! Shut up!
The announcing angel of the Lord enters Mary’s home with these words: “Don’t be afraid.” (That’s the perfect line for an angel who has just materialized in your kitchen. I would have needed to clean out my britches.) Once Mary got her wits about her the angel continued his message. He told Mary that she had found favor with God and that she was blessed. Not going to be blessed, but WAS blessed (past tense). A blessing over her life had already been spoken. He continued to tell her the favor and blessing on her life had potentially propelled her into a role never before seen on the earth: the earthly mother of the incarnate Son of God.
“You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you will call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. He will reign over the house of David forever.”
Mary responded, “How can this possibly be?”
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will (not has) overshadow you…nothing is impossible with God.”
In that moment, Mary was NOT pregnant. What? Are you kidding me? Why not? She had not said YES. She had not agreed to be used. She had agreed to be the receptacle of God’s deliverance to the earth. Mary’s answer to the proposal of the angel triggered the incarnation in her body. He agreement with the Word of God was the catalyst the started a chain reaction of redemption that is still rolling through the earth. She said “YES”.
Luke 1:38 is a record of the human, earthly agreement with God’s heavenly plan. Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”
Mary was already blessed. She could have disregarded the words of the angel, allowed the fear of rejection and the fear of men and women to steal her destiny. She could responded with a fear-filled “no, thank you” and still been blessed and most likely lived happy ever after. But she didn’t. She said “YES” to the call. THEN the Holy Spirit overshadowed her and Spirit of God impregnated her human body. The power of Mary’s “YES” changed history.
What are you saying today? Are you agreeing with the plan of God over your life or are just considering it as one of your options. The most powerful word in your vocabulary today is YES.
Mary chose to be ALL IN. What about you?
