Responding Rightly

"The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.'
'I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.' Then the angel left her."
Luke 1:35-38
 

Mary, probably about fifteen years old, received a visit from the angel Gabriel. This is the same angel who had earlier visited Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. Gabriel had amazing, supernatural news for Mary. As incredible as it might seem, she was to give birth to a son. She was a virgin. In her mind she knew that this was impossible. Yet the angel made it clear that this was to be a supernatural event. It had to have sounded crazy, but she responded in complete faith: "May it be to me as you have said." No wonder Mary was chosen to bear the Christ child. She responded rightly to God.
    When the angel told Zechariah that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son in the natural way, he responded with disbelief, and he bore the consequences. But Mary received a far more amazing promise. She responded with faith. She believed God's promise and nothing would cause her to waiver. It happened exactly as the angel foretold. Mary delivered the baby Jesus in a stable in Bethlehem.
    I've been asking myself a question: When God promises me something for my future, do I respond like Zechariah did or like Mary? Am I really living in faith, believing the miracle working power of God, or do I respond with disbelief? It seems to me that these things are key. If I respond in faith, it will be done to me just as God declares. But if I don't believe him and never show a willingness to receive it without questioning, I may face a rocky road to get to the place God wants me. My choice is to either believe the supernatural plan of God or reject it as impossible. I have made a decision to receive the promise of God for my life with full faith and confidence. May it be to me just as the Lord has said!
    What do you think? As you look at your life, reviewing the promises that God has made to you, have you received them in faith or rejected them in disbelief? If the fulfillment has not come, maybe it's time to take inventory of your life and see if you have believed God and acted in faith to receive his promises. If you, like me, have not believed God and his word, it takes only a moment of confession and a new decision to start believing. God has a future for all of us. He has promises that are supernatural. Instead of living life always questioning the will of God, we should all respond to him as Mary did. We will receive his will into our lives and it will be glorious. He wants the best for us and he is offering it. We need only to respond rightly.