How Can This Be?

But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “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. (Luke. 1:34-35)

If, through an angel, I were told what God planned to accomplish through me in the days ahead, I’d probably ask, as Mary did, “How can this be?”

Yes, indeed. I’d have a whole list of things past and present that would raise questions. How can this be? …given my marriage, or ex-marriage…or my health…or the consequences of my mistakes…or my obligations…or my lack of power and influence…or my weaknesses…

But it’s the Lord who works through me. I’m not the one who achieves it. Mary wasn’t the one who achieved what God did through her. The same Holy Spirit that came upon Mary has come upon me. I am given things to accomplish that are part of God’s plan. My challenge is to recognize this, embrace it, and be thankful. It’s too easy to get “busy” during the season and forget whose plan it really is.

Reava Davis