Waiting: Day 9

Monday December 8, 2025

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.”

Luke 1:30-33, English Standard Version

Mary is troubled, yes, but that doesn’t mean she is unwilling to listen. She is a devout young Jewish woman, and she is talking to a messenger from God, after all. Gabriel shares the directives from heaven.

Like Elizabeth, Mary is going to have a baby, a boy, and Gabriel already has a name picked out. This baby is going to be “great” and He’ll be called “the Son of the Most High.”

At this point, I’m guessing that Mary is about to faint. But Gabriel isn’t finished.

Mary’s fiancée, Joseph, has some royal blood given that he is, as the King James puts it, “of the house and lineage of David.” But this kid is somehow going to assume the throne, whereupon He will rule forever, and His kingdom will have no end. This is pretty heady stuff.

Put yourself in Mary’s place. You’re a teenager, still living at home, dreaming of a wedding and a life with your future husband. You’ve heard all your life about a Savior that God has promised for your people, for your nation. They call Him things like the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Son of God. Now, this Gabriel fellow, this angel, is pronouncing that you of all people are going to be intimately involved in His birth. You? No way.

Let’s be clear on this. None of us will ever experience a call to equal that one. There’s only one Messiah and He’s already been born, so God’s not sending anybody your way, or mine, to make such a proclamation. But that doesn’t mean God may not call us to do something important. Life changing. Eternal.

Be ready. Be expectant. Be watchful. God might just show up in the midst of our waiting.