Day 24 — Mary Says Yes

“‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May it happen to me according to your word.’”

— Luke 1:38 (BSB)

Mary was a young woman living in the small town of Nazareth. She was probably a teenager. She was engaged to a carpenter named Joseph. She was planning an ordinary life.

Then one day, the angel Gabriel appeared to her. He said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was confused and scared. What did this mean?

Gabriel told her something amazing: God had chosen her to be the mother of His Son. She would have a baby, and she would name Him Jesus. He would be the Son of the Most High, and His kingdom would never end.

Mary asked, “How can this be?” She wasn’t married yet. Gabriel explained that the Holy Spirit would make it happen. “For no word from God will ever fail.”

Think about what God was asking of Mary. People might not believe her. They might gossip about her. Joseph might not understand. Her whole life would change. It would be wonderful, but it would also be hard.

And Mary answered with some of the bravest words in the Bible: “I am the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me according to your word.”

In other words: Yes, God. Whatever You want. I trust You.

Mary didn’t know how everything would work out. She didn’t understand it all. But she said yes to God anyway.

That’s what faith looks like. It’s not having all the answers. It’s trusting God enough to say yes, even when you don’t know what’s ahead.

God probably won’t ask you to do what He asked Mary. But He will ask you to say yes to Him in lots of ways. Yes to forgiving someone. Yes to telling the truth. Yes to being kind to the girl no one likes. Yes to following Him when your friends don’t.

A true story: Mary Slessor grew up poor in Scotland. She went to work in a mill when she was only eleven, and she had a temper she had to learn to tame. But she said yes to God, and when she grew up, she sailed to Calabar in Africa to tell people about Jesus. In that place, twin babies were thought to be cursed and were left in the forest. Mary thought that was a wicked lie. Whenever she heard of twins, she ran into the forest, into the dark and into angry crowds, and she carried the babies home. Because one brave woman said yes to God, the killing of twins began to stop. You can read her whole story in Brave for God.

Think about it: What’s one area of your life where God might be asking you to say, “Yes, Lord, I trust You”?

Try this: Pray Mary’s prayer today: “I am the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me according to Your word.” Then say yes to whatever God puts in front of you.

Dear God, like Mary, I want to say yes to You. I am Your servant. I don’t always understand what You’re doing, but I trust You. Help me say yes to You every day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.