The Faith of Mary

​So often when we go through difficult times in life, we can begin to question the wisdom and the goodness of God.  We can begin to wonder what we’ve done wrong.  Why is God punishing me?  We can begin to think God has abandoned us.  It can be so difficult to find rest and peace in his divine wisdom and sovereignty.  Oh, if we could only learn to pray as Mary prayed and have the faith and trust in God which she possessed.  In Luke chapter 1 we read that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would conceive and give birth to a child.  Of course, she is a little puzzled by this since she is a virgin and not married.  The angel explains to her that she will be miraculously impregnated by the power of the Holy Spirit (v.35).  What we have to understand is that in the time and culture Mary was living in, for an unmarried woman to become pregnant meant—at best—she would be ostracized from her community, disowned by her family, and could likely look forward to being forced into a life of prostitution to provide for herself and her bastard child—at worse—she would be stoned to death.  The situation that Mary finds herself in is grim and precarious.  Her future does not look good.  Yet how does she respond?  “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”  Let it be to me according to your word.  Mary’s faith in God and her trust in his wisdom was such that she believed that regardless of what the future held, regardless of where this might lead, regardless of what may become of her, she understood that she belonged to the Lord.  Her life was not her own but was for God to do with whatever he wills.  Thus, in the face of certain adversity, with the prospect of a grim future, she does not flinch.  She does not bock.  She does not murmur, but simply prays, “Let it be to me according to your word.”  We should all pray that prayer more often and strive to have the faith of Mary.