Pearls From Luke: "But How?"

Mary said to the angel, "But how?"
Luke 1.34

I want to follow up with the last post, Pearls From Luke:Embracing Fear, with another response that Zachariah and Mary gave when in the presence of The Angel of God. The reason for this is because it is so important that we believe God can do anything, therefore we must measure our response to His miracles!

Zachariah's Response
Zachariah had his prayers answered when Gabriel, the sentinel of God, told him that Elizabeth (Zachariah's wife) would give birth to a son.

Zachariah said to the angel, "Do you expect me to believe this? I'm an old man and my wife is an old woman." (Luke 1.18)

Zachariah's Prayer was answered, but he did not believe. So the angel responds by saying, "I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won't believe me, you'll be unable to say a word until the day of your son's birth. Every word I've spoken to you will come true on time—God's time."

If we are faithfully praying and staying true to God's Word, we must believe that He will "surprise" us on His Time---God's Time.

Mary's Response
God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin named Mary. The Angel Gabriel had a surprise for her. After he told her she would give birth to Jesus, she responds:

"But how? I've never slept with a man."

You know, sometimes the problems we face may not be that God is not listening, it's that we are not believing. God may hand us the answer to our Prayers on a silver platter, but then we respond, "But how?"

I love how Gabriel answers Mary:

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you;
Therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God. (Luke 1.35)

And then we see one of the most faithful verses of the Bible, a verse to find out what we really believe, a seven word verse that we can hang our trust on:

"Nothing, you see, is impossible with God."
From Luke 1.36-38

Our Response
So here is the question. Can you and I now have a response (see below), like Mary after hearing those seven words?

Yes, I see it all now: I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve.

Let it be with me just as you say. Luke 1.36-38

No more hesitation. When God speaks it is time to act. No more excuses, no more "Do you expect me to believe this?"...no more "But How's?"

Ready To Serve
It's time to believe that Nothing is impossible with God. It's time to stop questioning and start serving!

Lord, I see it now: Here I am ready to serve you...let it be with me just as you say!