I Am Yours

He sees that sometimes we are a hot mess and He loves us still.

God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary.

She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.

 

Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.

“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “For you have found favor with God!

You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.

He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High.

The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.

And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

 

Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

 

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,

and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God”

– Luke 1:26-35

 

A young, poor and insignificant girl from the small, inconsequential village of Bethlehem became the mother of our Savior.

In this patriarchal society, where women were discriminated against and of little value, Mary was highly honored by God.

It can be so difficult to imagine what that must have been like for Mary.

Do you think that she understood what was really going to happen when she said yes?

 

“Mary responded, ‘I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true…and then the angel left her.’” – Luke 1:38

 

The promise of a Savior had been taught and passed down from one generation to the next.

This message continued through 400 years of silence. Years where there were no prophets and there was no word from God.

Mary knew about this promise and must have wholeheartedly believed that God would be true to His word.

So, when the angel appeared to her, she immediately acted on this belief with a resounding YES!

She was overshadowed and completely enveloped in the magnificent presence and power of the Holy Spirit

so that her baby would be called the Son of God.

This must have been the scariest, most exciting, weirdest and most unbelievable experience for Mary.

Then, the angel left and the reality of her situation hit…

 

Did she cry? Did she feel a little nauseous when she thought about this new reality?

Was she scared? Was she thinking that this was all a huge mistake?

Probably yes to all of this and so much more.

Somehow, she turned her fear into courage and her courage made it possible for her to praise God.

She may have realized that not only was Jesus to be ‘born’ from her womb but he was also ‘born’ in her heart.

 

Her words in Luke 1: 46-55 are often called The Magnificat or Mary’s Song of Praise.

 

Mary responded,

“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.

How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!

For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,

and from now on all generations will call me blessed.

For the Mighty One is holy,

and he has done great things for me.

He shows mercy from generation to generation

to all who fear him.

His mighty arm has done tremendous things!

He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.

He has brought down princes from their thrones

and exalted the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things

and sent the rich away with empty hands.

He has helped his servant Israel

and remembered to be merciful.

For he made this promise to our ancestors,

to Abraham and his children forever.”

 

Nichole Nordeman, a Christian singer and songwriter, was inspired by those words of Mary when she wrote the song ‘Be Born in Me.’

 

“Be Born In Me”

Everything inside me cries for order

Everything inside me wants to hide

Is this shadow an angel or a warrior?

If God is pleased with me, why am I so terrified?

Someone tell me I am only dreaming

Somehow help me see with Heaven’s eyes

And before my head agrees, my heart is on its knees

Holy is He; blessed am I

 

Be born in me, be born in me

Trembling heart, somehow, I believe that You chose me

I’ll hold You in the beginning, You will hold me in the end

Every moment in the middle, make my heart Your Bethlehem

Be born in me

 

All this time we’ve waited for the promise

All this time You’ve waited for my arms

Did You wrap yourself inside the unexpected

So we might know that Love would go that far?

 

I am not brave

I’ll never be

The only thing my heart can offer is a vacancy

I’m just a girl

Nothing more

But I am willing, I am Yours

 

Be born in me, be born in me

I’ll hold You in the beginning, You will hold me in the end

Every moment in the middle, make my heart Your Bethlehem

Be born in me

 

Her song paints a picture of a girl who was not special.

A girl who didn’t have any special talents, but what she did have was a willing and open heart and God chose her.

Like Mary, God chose us.

And yes, we also are not perfect. God knows that, and He chose us anyway.

He sees that sometimes we are a hot mess from the time we get up in the morning until we go to bed at night and He loves us still.

He knows our fears and struggles, our laughter and sorrow. He is beside us through it all.

 

All we have to do is willingly open up our own heart to Him and we are His.

 

“I am not brave

I’ll never be

The only thing my heart can offer is a vacancy

I’m just a girl

Nothing more

But I am willing, I am Yours”