Stress Test Devotional April 27
April 27, 2024
LUKE 1:27 | 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
Nazareth was a surprising place to find on the itinerary of the angel Gabriel! But the fact he came with a message for Mary was a greater shock. Mary was a “parthenos,” a young virgin teenager. She is soon told, God has selected her to bear His Son, the hoped-for Messiah.
As a young, unmarried woman, this certainly struck Mary as biologically and socially impossible. Unmarried virgins don’t end up in the maternity ward and if the unimaginable did occur, how could she care for the Chosen One? Opportunities for single mothers were non-existent, and her child would be viewed as illegitimate. Her own lineage didn’t connect with the Davidic line and though Joseph’s did, he would almost certainly reject her and might insist that she deserved stoning for infidelity. Mary faced a series of dire circumstances.
When have you faced a dire situation?
How did you respond?
Gracious God,
All we see sometimes are the circumstances. We forget that You are the Sovereign Lord of life and history and that Your plans began before we existed and extend to the end of time and the consummation of all things. Grow our trust in Your purposes.
Amen.
