Luke 1:26-56

When I was in the fifth grade, my grandfather, my mother’s father, was diagnosed with cancer. My mother had been raised attending church. Her mother made sure her children were church every Sunday. In high school, my mother sang in the church choir. When I was born my mother continued that tradition. We were in church every Sunday. My mother taught a children’s Sunday school class and continued to sing in the choir. However, it wasn’t until I was in third or fourth grade that my mother became a Christian. It wasn’t until then that she really understood that Jesus had died for her sins, offered her forgiveness for them, and the promise of eternal life. It wasn’t until then that she made that faith her own and decided to give her life to God. And it wasn’t just her. It was her brother, her sisters and her parents as well. Within a year they’d all made that decision to give their lives to God. And now, their father had cancer.

Naturally, they began to pray. They prayed because that’s what God tells us to do. James wrote that we have not because we ask not and Jesus said we could move mountains with the faith of a mustard seed. So, they prayed and they believed their father would be healed and get better. And two weeks later he died.

My mother was devastated. How could God allow that to happen? They’d done everything God had asked. They prayed. They believed. And still he died.

I think we’ve all gone through situations like that. We wonder why God allows us face difficulties such as death. We wonder why God doesn’t prevent some things from happening.

But, maybe it isn’t something bad that happens but something good that doesn’t. Maybe it’s a new job, a raise or promotion that doesn’t come through. Something good happens to others but it doesn’t seem to happen to you.

I know a man whose wife buys a lottery ticket every week. She tells him that he has provided for her since they were married and this is how she intends to provide for him in their retirement. Of course she hasn’t won and probably won’t. That’s probably a bad example though.

Why do bad things happen and good things don’t? I don’t know. But what I do know though is the attitude we should have.

Turn to Luke 1. Luke addressed his gospel to Theophilus. There have been many guesses as to his identity but we really don’t know. What does seem likely is that Theophilus had heard the gospel taught and just wasn’t sure if it was true. In an effort to persuade him, Luke talked to people who had witnessed the miracles Jesus performed, had heard him teach, saw his crucifixion, and witnessed his resurrection. He carefully investigated all that Jesus said and did and then presented his findings to Theophilus.

Luke starts with the story of an angel appearing to Zechariah when he was serving as a priest at the temple. Zechariah had been chosen to enter the Holy Place to burn incense. While in the temple an angel appeared to him informing him that his childless wife would bear him a son in their old age and that he was to call him John.

The second story Luke tells is about another angel, perhaps the same one though this one is named, appears to Mary to inform her that she too will have a son even though she wasn’t married and was still a virgin.

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:26-38)

This scene took place just over six months after the previous one. Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth is not six months pregnant. The last story ended saying Elizabeth hid away for the first five months.

According to Jewish custom wedding arrangements were made by the parents. Therefore, a couple could become engaged even as young children. Then, a year before their marriage, they would become espoused or betrothed. That meant that although they would not consummate their relationship, they would be considered husband and wife in a legal binding so strong, it required a divorce to break the relationship.

Betrothals usually took place when the girl was fifteen to sixteen years old. That gives us Mary’s probable age when Gabriel appears to her.

Gabriel’s greeting is interesting.

Greetings [or rejoice], you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you. (Luke 1:28)

First, Mary is “highly favored.” The term simply means to be really blessed. It is only used one other time in the New Testament, by Paul, who uses it to describe us and the way God has blessed us through Jesus. God has highly favored us through Jesus because it is in Jesus that we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins. Gabriel says that Mary is highly blessed as well. And second, Gabriel says that God is with her.

How does God blessing and presence work out in Mary’s life? She’s going to be an unwed mother and I have some questions. How is that a blessing? How many think it would be a blessing to be pregnant at fourteen or fifteen years old? What about her parents? Would you consider it a blessing if your fourteen-year-old daughter came home pregnant? What would you think? How would Mary tell them? What about Joseph? We know his reaction from Matthew. He didn’t believe her. He was ready to divorce her. No one would believe her story. They may not have known as much about the birth process as we do today but they knew where babies came from. Anyone wanting to deny that process was only trying to hide something. If this is God’s idea of a blessing maybe you’d rather not be so highly blessed.

What do you do when faced with overwhelming difficulties? How do you respond when things just don’t go your way? What lessons can we learn from the way Mary reacted to her situation?

First, let go of your need to control the situation.

Is there something in your life you wish was different? Again, it may be something bad you’d rather not face but you may be waiting on something good that just hasn’t happened. We all would like to be able to control the situations we’re in. And typically, the more out of control we feel the more overwhelmed we feel. Generally, we will do almost anything to regain control and make things work out the way that we want. However, we need to realize that much of the stress in our lives is caused by that need for control. And we need to realize that the harder to fight to gain control the more overwhelmed we’ll feel. The truth much of life is beyond our control. How we react and our attitude towards it then is very important.

Have you ever noticed that God often keeps his people in a place of uncertainty? For example, God called Abraham to leave his home and travel to a distant country but didn’t tell him where he was going. God just said he’d let him know when he got there. Why does he do that? It’s not because he wants to keep things from us but so that we will learn to rely on him.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the hardships he had faced in his missionary travels saying:

8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us. (2 Corinthians 2:8-10)

We will always find ourselves in situations we are unable to control. In times like that we must learn to give up our need to control and trust God. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, let go of your need to control the situation and trust God.

What’s that Mary’s response? Gabriel tells her she’s going to have a baby and Mary replies:

I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled. (Luke 1:38a)

Gabriel had explained how it would happen, but there’s no way she could understand. We don’t completely understand today. But she believed and she trusted. She stopped worrying and she started trusting. That’s the attitude we need. Whatever it is that is overwhelming you, trust God. As we read in Proverbs:

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Doesn’t that make sense? After all, who is smarter you or God? Who knows what’s best for your life you or God? Who always knows the right path to take when you are feeling overwhelmed and things are out of your control you or God? So let go of your need to always be in control. It’s a hard lesson but we all need to learn it.

Second, let other people help you.

This is usually the opposite of what we do. Instead of reaching out to others when we’re overwhelmed, we usually tend to pull away and withdraw. But understand this, whenever you do that you are backing away from the very thing you need the most. It’s when you are in drowning in the waters of those hard, difficult, and overwhelming times that you need other people the most.

What did Mary do? After the angel left and this mind-blowing news sank in, Mary had have felt a little overwhelmed and maybe even fearful. What would people think? What would they say? How would they treat her? What did she do? She went to visit Elizabeth.

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (Luke 1:39-45)

Gabriel had described Elizabeth as a relative. That was important, but there was some things even more important. First, we’ve already been told she was a godly woman. Second, she was an older woman. She had a lot more life experience to share with Mary. And third, she was pregnant by the power of God as well. She was just a little bit further ahead than Mary in the same journey.

Here’s the point, when you’re overwhelmed you need to find someone like Elizabeth. What does that mean?

First, find someone who is a strong believer. Find someone who genuinely desires to live for God and Jesus.

Second, it’s good to look for someone who is a little bit older than you. Find someone who has had more of life experience than you’ve had.

And third, if you can find someone whose gone through a similar situation that will be even better.

We all need other people in our lives, especially during those times when we are feeling overwhelmed. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 4:

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

This is why you need to be a part of a church family. It’s not enough to just attend a church and hear some Bible teaching. You need to get connected to other believers in community. And you need to do it before the crisis happens. We are all going to have crisis situations so it’s better to have those support systems in place before they happen.

Too many believe this is an optional part of Christianity when it is actually a command. As Paul wrote to the Galatians:

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)

Think about this, in order for someone to help carry your burdens they have to know what your burdens are. Helping each other is what it means to be a church and to carry out the command to love each other.

A few months ago Gina sang a song by Matthew West titled “Truth Be Told.” The lyrics go:

Lie number one: You’re supposed to have it all together

And when they ask how you’re doin’, just smile and tell them, “Never better”

Lie number two: Everybody’s life is perfect except yours

So keep your messes and your wounds and your secrets safe with you behind closed doors

But truth be told

The truth is rarely told, no...

I say, “I’m fine, yeah, I’m fine, oh, I’m fine, hey, I’m fine”

But I’m not, I’m broken

And when it’s out of control I say it’s under control

But it’s not and You know it

I don’t know why it’s so hard to admit it

When bein’ honest is the only way to fix it

There’s no failure, no fall

There’s no sin You don’t already know

So let the truth be told

When you are feeling overwhelmed let other people help you.

And third, lean into God’s strength.

God’s strength is always there and always available. However, we have to choose to lean into it. We have to stop acting and living like it all depends on us.

The reason Mary was not blown away by her overwhelming circumstances is because she trusted God’s word and leaned on his promises. As Elizabeth told her:

Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her! (Luke 1:45)

Mary was calm because she believed that God would do what he said, that he would keep his promises to here and that he would give her strength.

Here is a promise we need to remember when we’re feeling overwhelmed. It’s found in Isaiah 43:

1 But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 3a For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” (Isaiah 43:1-3a)

We need God’s strength.

Where did Mary find that strength? She found it by praising God for his goodness. There is power in praise. There’s power in praising for who he is and what he’s done. And that’s what Mary did.

46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me – holy is his name. 50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. 51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful 55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.” 56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. (Luke 1:46-56)

That’s not too bad for a fourteen-year-old.

Mary thanks God and praises him for taking notice of her, a lowly servant girl. She mentions the great things he’d done for her. God shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him. He fills the hungry with good things. And he keeps his promises.

When you are feeling overwhelmed I would encourage you to take some time to offer praise to God. It helps to remind you of what he has done in the past and that he is still with you today.

That’s what we did Sunday evening. We just spent time in prayer, reading God’s word, and offering praise.

I think this whole story seems strange. It seems strange that girls so young would be getting married. It also seems strange that God would choose a girl so young. Why not choose a woman in her twenties or thirties, a woman with more maturity? Why would he choose a girl in her teens? I think it this says something about Mary. Of all the women alive at that time, God chose Mary. He chose her because she trusted him. In the face of the situation that was beyond her control she trusted God just like we need to.