Excerpted from the Women’s Sanctuary Devotional Bible NLT

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her. – Luke 1:38

Motherhood is a painful privilege. Young Mary of Nazareth had the unique privilege of being mother to the Son of God. Yet mothers everywhere can understand the pains and pleasures of her motherhood. She saw him arrive as her baby son and watched him die as her Savior.

Until Gabriel’s visit, Mary’s life was quite satisfactory. She had recently become engaged and was anticipating married life. But her life was about to change forever.

Mary found the angel’s greeting puzzling and his presence frightening. What she heard next was that her child would be the Messiah. Mary did not doubt the message but rather asked how pregnancy would be possible. Gabriel told her the baby would be God’s Son. Her answer was the one God waits in vain to hear from so many other people: “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true” (Luke 1:28). Later her song of joy shows us how well she knew God, for her thoughts were filled with his words from the Old Testament.

When Jesus was eight days old, his parents took him to the Temple to be dedicated to God. There Joseph and Mary were met by two devout people, Simeon and Anna, who recognized the child as the Messiah and praised God. The words Simeon directed to Mary must have come to her mind many times in the years that followed: “A sword will pierce your very soul” (Luke 2:35). Part of her painful privilege would be to see her son rejected and crucified by the people he came to save.

We can imagine that even if Mary had known all she would suffer as Jesus’ mother, she would still have given the same response. Are you, like Mary, available to be used by God?

Lessons from her life

• God’s best servants are often ordinary people who make themselves available to him.

• A person’s character is revealed by his or her response to the unexpected.

Mary’s story is told throughout the Gospels. She is also mentioned in Acts 1:14.

For more Advent devotions, visit Tyndale’s Online Advent Calendar here.