Many of us know that we are supposed to trust God. We all know the scriptures that tell us “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path. So in theory many of us get it, but few of us get it in principle. Few of us understand how to apply that salient truth to our everyday walk. And guess what? That’s okay. The beginning of wisdom is to ask the question, seek the answer, and then be willing to put the things learned into practice.
What is trusting? Simply put if you trust in something you stand firmly on their ability, their character, and you place your confidence that they will do exactly what they said they would do. You sleep at night without worry, because their consistent nature has assured you that they will do exactly what they said they would. You’ve tried them and you’ve found them to be honorable individuals who as we say are absolutely what you see is what you get!! So if we can put our trust in human beings, how much more should we stand firm and put our trust absolutely in God? People are fallible, God is infallible. People will disappoint you, God cannot disappoint. People are fickle, God is not fickle. Let’s take a glimpse of someone who trusted in God without wavering, especially when everything would dictate she should run from the life she was suddenly faced with. Little is known of Mary's personal history from the New Testament. She was a relative of Elizabeth, wife of the priest Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah. Mary resided at Nazareth in Galilee, with her parents, while betrothed to Joseph of the House of David. During their betrothal the angel Gabriel announced to her that she was to be the mother of the promised Messiah by conceiving him through the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35).
Gabriel’s proclamation: “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary for you have found favor with God. And behold you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord Gold will give Him the throne of father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?
And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. How indeed Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.”
Then Mary said, “Behold your maidservant, let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
An angel proclaimed she who had never been intimate with a man would miraculously conceive a baby!! And Mary trusted God. She took God at his word, giving no thought to the possible stoning she would suffer, the disgrace her family would experience, and the loss of respect from the man she was supposed to marry. Mary didn’t know what the outcome would be all she knew was God told her what was going to happen and she said let it be as you’ve said.
When Joseph was told of her conception in a dream by "an angel of the Lord", he was surprised; but the angel commanded him to be unafraid and take her as his wife, which Joseph obediently did, thereby formally completing the wedding rites. Since the angel had told Mary that Elizabeth, having previously been barren, was now miraculously pregnant, Mary then hurried to visit her relation, who was living with her husband Zechariah in a city of Judah. Once Mary arrived at the house and greeted Elizabeth, Elizabeth immediately proclaimed Mary as "the mother of [her] Lord", and gave her a hymn of thanksgiving.
Probably some time between this event and the opening of Jesus' public ministry Mary was widowed, for Joseph is not mentioned again. Her death is not recorded in Scripture.
Lessons Learned from Mary in the art of Trusting:
1. We must listen to the word from God and communicate our questions and concerns to him and him alone. Luke 1: 34 Mary didn’t consult her friends to see if what the angel had told her was something worth her considering. There are some things God tells us that need to remain between you and Him.
2. In order for us to clearly hear from God we must have a solid intimate relationship with Him. We must dedicate a portion of our daily time to intimate bible study and prayer with God. When you do this you are much more sensitive to the voice of God. Mary was raised with a true understanding of God.
3. You must be submitted to Him in all things. You can not pick and choose what you are willing to submit to and what you’re not willing to submit to.
4. You must trust Him completely even if there is the potential of ridicule and ostracism. There will be times in your life when God will have you to do things that others might find strange but you must fear God and not man.
5. Don’t look back once you agree to God’s instruction. Also notice how Mary didn’t take it into her abilities to go and tell Joseph, she trusted that God would work it out however He saw fit. She trusted that God would not abandon her and whatever the outcome would be it would be God’s and so be it.
6. Ensure you surround yourself with Godly women who you can ensure will give godly counsel and godly encouragement. God will truly lead you to the right women if you ask Him to. Mary went to Elizabeth but notice how Elizabeth already knew and announced “blessed is she who believed for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
So make it your life aim to live a life completely trusting God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and mind. Trust God and leave all the consequences up to HIM!!
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