How Will This Be?


And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 

(Luke 1:30-34)

Mary is so practical—instead of wasting her time or the angel’s by arguing, asking for reassurance, or showing disbelief, she simply asks about the “how” of God’s promise. Because there’s a practical problem—though Mary is betrothed, she isn’t living with her husband yet—the final wedding celebration is yet to come.

So Mary wants to know: what happens next? Does God want her to move the wedding forward? Or does God have other plans— plans she can’t even imagine?

Sometimes it’s obvious what God wants to happen in our lives. And then sometimes we have no idea what comes next, and we ask God: “How will this be? What do You want to happen?”

It can be scary to ask that question, because we fear what the answer might be. But it helps if we remember that we are asking the One who loved us so much He came into our world and our lives, to be our Savior forever—Jesus, who lived, died, and rose for us.

Dear Lord, show me the path You have for me to walk. Amen.

Reflect & Discuss

  1. When in your life did you not know what was coming next? 
  2. How did you deal with the uncertainty?
  3. How did God help you through that time?

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