Joyful Surrender
by Jeff Hubing
“And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.’”
“And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior, for He has looked on the humble estate of His servant.’”
- Luke 1:38, 46-47
Jesus’ mother became a subject of fascination for Christians in the centuries following the events of the New Testament. Many legendary attributes of her character were described and passed along, and eventually enshrined in the doctrinal canon of Roman Catholicism – including her innate sinlessness, her status as a perpetual virgin, and her bodily ascension to heaven prior to, or immediately following, her death. Many of these teachings have no root in Scripture, or the earliest apostolic traditions, and as a result are not things that we affirm in our community.
But, we should not allow the embellishment of Mary’s identity to distract us from the powerful truth of her piety in Luke’s account. She provides us with a stunning vision of what it means to joyfully surrender to the Lord.
The angel Gabriel interrupted Mary’s life in ways that are difficult to frame for most of us. The nature of her new mission – to give birth to and raise “the Son of the Most High” whom the Lord would give “the throne of his father, David” – was not the typical plan for young women growing up in the sleepy rural village of Nazareth. How could she have been expected to manage this? How could she respond to the accusations and criticism about to land on her as an unwed, pregnant teenager (most likely)? How could she understand her true integrity in light of the mockery and distrust that was soon to follow? I am confident she had a few of those “Why me?” moments.
But, what is so beautiful about Mary’s story is her obvious trust and submission to the Lord. “Let it be done to me according to your word,” is her ultimate response to Gabriel’s news. Whew. That is a young woman who understands covenant loyalty. That is a heart that is convinced of the goodness, power and mission of God.
We see many examples in the Scriptures of people who wrestle with God’s will for their lives. Some have to go through difficulties and trials before they embrace it (like Jonah). Others accept, but then try to wiggle out of the implications at some point or another (like Peter when he denied Jesus). Even the Master himself poured his heart out before the Father in the garden to prepare himself for the agony of his suffering and reaffirm his devotion to His plan. True intimacy with God is only sustained by consistently yielding to His agenda for our lives.
In the same way that we’ve had to say “Down, you brute!” to our stomachs during this fast, we must continue to say “Down, you brute!” to our will when it tries to buck up against the wise and beautiful will of God.
“You must do violence to your own will…even though this may cause you to forgo your own rights and forget your own good in your concern for [others], and however much your physical powers may rebel.”
- Theresa of Avila
But, lest we should think that reluctant obedience is the standard, we must also notice that Mary’s submission to God was not characterized by moping, grumbling and complaining, or the seeking of sympathy from others through veiled prayer requests that are essentially character assassinations of the Lord.
“My spirit rejoices in God, my Savior,” she exclaims. She was so free to celebrate God’s work because she had accepted His purpose as her own.
Joy is a part of our eternal inheritance through the gospel. And, like many other blessings, it is meant to be tasted NOW in the present time, even as we await its ultimate expression THEN.
Real joy cannot be faked. It is the product of the Spirit’s work in our lives (Gal 5:22). That
means, in order to experience joy in an ongoing way, our cooperation with the Spirit’s leadership is essential. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal 5:25). Keeping in step is following our Great Leader. It’s the way of yielding. It’s the path of surrender.
As we continue to lay down our carefully crafted plans and yield to the Master Plan of Jesus Christ for our lives, our love and loyalty to Him will be evident, we will bear much fruit, and our joy will be full.
“And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.’”
“And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior, for He has looked on the humble estate of His servant.’”
- Luke 1:38, 46-47
Jesus’ mother became a subject of fascination for Christians in the centuries following the events of the New Testament. Many legendary attributes of her character were described and passed along, and eventually enshrined in the doctrinal canon of Roman Catholicism – including her innate sinlessness, her status as a perpetual virgin, and her bodily ascension to heaven prior to, or immediately following, her death. Many of these teachings have no root in Scripture, or the earliest apostolic traditions, and as a result are not things that we affirm in our community.
But, we should not allow the embellishment of Mary’s identity to distract us from the powerful truth of her piety in Luke’s account. She provides us with a stunning vision of what it means to joyfully surrender to the Lord.
The angel Gabriel interrupted Mary’s life in ways that are difficult to frame for most of us. The nature of her new mission – to give birth to and raise “the Son of the Most High” whom the Lord would give “the throne of his father, David” – was not the typical plan for young women growing up in the sleepy rural village of Nazareth. How could she have been expected to manage this? How could she respond to the accusations and criticism about to land on her as an unwed, pregnant teenager (most likely)? How could she understand her true integrity in light of the mockery and distrust that was soon to follow? I am confident she had a few of those “Why me?” moments.
But, what is so beautiful about Mary’s story is her obvious trust and submission to the Lord. “Let it be done to me according to your word,” is her ultimate response to Gabriel’s news. Whew. That is a young woman who understands covenant loyalty. That is a heart that is convinced of the goodness, power and mission of God.
We see many examples in the Scriptures of people who wrestle with God’s will for their lives. Some have to go through difficulties and trials before they embrace it (like Jonah). Others accept, but then try to wiggle out of the implications at some point or another (like Peter when he denied Jesus). Even the Master himself poured his heart out before the Father in the garden to prepare himself for the agony of his suffering and reaffirm his devotion to His plan. True intimacy with God is only sustained by consistently yielding to His agenda for our lives.
In the same way that we’ve had to say “Down, you brute!” to our stomachs during this fast, we must continue to say “Down, you brute!” to our will when it tries to buck up against the wise and beautiful will of God.
“You must do violence to your own will…even though this may cause you to forgo your own rights and forget your own good in your concern for [others], and however much your physical powers may rebel.”
- Theresa of Avila
But, lest we should think that reluctant obedience is the standard, we must also notice that Mary’s submission to God was not characterized by moping, grumbling and complaining, or the seeking of sympathy from others through veiled prayer requests that are essentially character assassinations of the Lord.
“My spirit rejoices in God, my Savior,” she exclaims. She was so free to celebrate God’s work because she had accepted His purpose as her own.
Joy is a part of our eternal inheritance through the gospel. And, like many other blessings, it is meant to be tasted NOW in the present time, even as we await its ultimate expression THEN.
Real joy cannot be faked. It is the product of the Spirit’s work in our lives (Gal 5:22). That
means, in order to experience joy in an ongoing way, our cooperation with the Spirit’s leadership is essential. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal 5:25). Keeping in step is following our Great Leader. It’s the way of yielding. It’s the path of surrender.
As we continue to lay down our carefully crafted plans and yield to the Master Plan of Jesus Christ for our lives, our love and loyalty to Him will be evident, we will bear much fruit, and our joy will be full.
Posted in Devotionals
Posted in joyful surrender, submission to God, covenant loyatly, loyalty to God
Posted in joyful surrender, submission to God, covenant loyatly, loyalty to God