Accepting the Will of God

In Luke 1:38, Mary expresses wonder and desire for the will of God. He had invaded time and space and she was the chosen recipient of wonderful grace. And as there is in any endeavor where Almighty God enters into human affairs, some will worship and some will scorn and at the hands of the unknowing there will be a human price to pay. Such would be the case for Mary, and she bore it beautifully. For her there would surely be questions, whispering, disbelief, scorn, contempt.

Mary's response to God? She worships Him. In Luke 1:46-47 she says "My soul exalts (magnifies) the Lord…my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." She accepts and cooperates with His plan and finds true peace and contentment.

Amy Carmichael wrote a poem entitled “In Acceptance Lieth Peace”. It begins like this: He said, "I will forget the dying faces; The empty places; They shall be filled again; O voices mourning deep within me, cease." Vain, vain the word; vain, vain: Not in forgetting lieth peace. It goes on to say that we cannot find peace in ignoring, forgetting, busyness, withdrawal…and closes with these words…He said, "I will accept the breaking sorrow Which God to-morrow Will to His son explain." Then did the turmoil deep within him cease. Not vain the word, not vain; For in acceptance lieth peace.

It kind of mirrors Mary’s response doesn’t it. I am Your servant Lord, Your will be done…be it done as you have said. Our response must be similar if we are going to make progress in Christ likeness. We aren’t initiators with God, but we are responders. We need to respond like the character in Carmichael’s poem as well as Mary in Luke chapter 1; accepting humbly what God lovingly brings, no matter what the personal cost, no matter the discomfort, no matter the short-term outcome because we know it is working for the glory to be revealed that is far superior to anything we know here on earth. To the praise of the glory of His grace.