“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary” (Luke 1:26-27).
I have been in Nazareth several times. It is not a big city. It is not an impressive city. It was a marvelous city because of Who would be conceived of the Holy Spirit there. What a special assignment Gabriel had. Think about it. As far as we know, young teenage Mary was going about her day doing what would be rather typical. We honestly do not know what she was doing at the exact moment that Gabriel appeared. We do know that in an instant, in a very brief conversation, Mary’s life was forever changed. As a teenage Jewish girl already engaged to Joseph, we believe that she daily dreamed of the life that they would share. She looked forward to the time that Joseph would come for her to take her home to his parents’ home for the private wedding. She looked forward to the public celebration. She looked forward to children coming to them in the years ahead. Suddenly her life changed in a heartbeat. You may have come upon some dramatic curves in your life’s road. These are the times that you were not expecting your life to change so quickly. Isn’t it great, I mean, isn’t it really, really great to know that the Lord is control even on those days?
For today: I can’t help but think of young Mary and how her life so changed in one day. God is in control, and I can’t wait until tomorrow for us to remember her reaction.