Luke 1:46-47
And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

What was it about this simple young woman named Mary that made her fit to bear the Christ child?  God chose her on purpose not because she was great, but because she was humble.  He used her because she was submissive to Him.  He came to her because she was focused on Him in her life.  Her heart was so much toward Him.  She wanted to honor Him and glorify the great God that she served.  Will this be our heart, as well—humble, willing, and focused on God?

God was enough for Mary, and so she obeyed when His angel came and gave her news that would change her whole life.  Since she was supposed to marry Joseph, surely she understood the implications of becoming pregnant when she was not yet married.  She faced the very real possibility of him refusing to marry her, of no one ever wanting to marry her.  And surely she felt some anxiety about caring for a baby—a uniquely special and precious baby.

But Mary had great faith in the God she loved so much.  She accepted His plan for her life and gave up her own because she knew her God to be faithful.  She knew the kind of God who was making this request of her.  She knew the character of the God who asked her to bear His Son.  She knew the powerful and amazing God who enabled her elderly cousin to bear a child herself.  And then she knew within herself when she became pregnant that there was no other way for that to be so than for God’s word to be true.  And instead of thinking more highly of herself, she was humbled all the more and exalted God alone.

Do we have the same kind of heart that Mary had?  Will we trade in our plans for God’s?  Will we trust Him no matter what He sends into our lives?  Will we honor Him in and through that no matter how difficult it may be?  What a sweet spirit that Mary seemed to have.  What an example she can be for us of someone who was simply willing to bank everything on God, someone who would truly give Him first place in her life.  Are we willing to humble ourselves to that place so God can be truly magnified in our lives?