Advent Devotional: Day 16

“And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the child to be born will be called holy-the Son of God.’ And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.’”  Luke 1:35; 46-47  ESV

As I was typing the scripture, I saw something that reminded me of Exodus 33:18-23.  In the scripture above the Holy Spirit came over her as a protection from God.  In Exodus, Moses asked to see God’s glory.  God answered him by saying you may see my back, but not my face.  If Moses had seen God’s face, then he would die (Exodus 33:23).  God tucked Moses into the cleft of the rock and covered his face with His hand until His power (glory) passed.  Mary would not see God’s face either, God protected her with the Holy Spirit.  Oh the love He showed her not just with being chosen, but protecting her from His very powerful presence.

Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus. She was favored by God. We get a glimpse as to why in her response to being chosen. She praises God. Here is a teenager who is about to become a mother, who according to custom at the time could be divorced or stoned.  Her family was disgraced.  And yet, her response was not what we expect, far from it.  No panic, no woe is me mentality, no fear—these are what we expect.

Her response was to acknowledge how wonderful the Father is and she humbly accepted her fate.  She sang a song full of praises.  Oh, to be more like Mary when faced with a world about to be very chaotic, like ours.

Faith in God’s promises grounds us in difficult times.  How are you grounding your faith?  Do you feel stressed and anxious when the world becomes too much?  Reflect today on Mary’s song in Luke 1:46-55, also take a moment to see the protection the Father offers in Exodus 33.