Mary’s Bitter Cup

Every day my children hear me talk about Lee’s deployment with someone. I suppose they’re getting a heaping dose of learning something about God. Here is what they’ve been hearing the last few days.

Mary was a teenager when Gabriel first came to her and told her that she was highly favored and chosen to be the mother of Jesus. Highly favored, keep in mind.

Could Mary possibly have missed in an instant that the gift she was given would include a great deal of pain? Her dreams of how life would go for her were suddenly altered. There was no guarantee people would believe that she was still godly and pure. If she wasn’t sure about pain in her life, Simeon would tell her, “A sword will pierce your side.” She made the choice to believe and trust in God.  “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”

Yes, Mary’s life was highly favored, but it was a life of tremendous pain.What was it about Mary that allowed her to respond the way she did? Her response when she visited her cousin Elisabeth gives us insight. Her prayer, the magnificat, is not a spontaneous song about God’s greatness. Mary is quoting Scripture, the song of Hannah in particular. Even as a young teenager, she had a remarkable knowledge of Scripture. And her knowledge of God enabled her to rest in Him.

I need God’s Word this week to meet the needs of my family. We all have challenges we face, and the pain and difficulty is no less real because someone has a different challenge. My pain is small compared to others’ pain, but all of our pain is miniscule in light of eternity. I need the renewal of my mind to think God’s thoughts. When I get my eyes off the Lord and on myself, then I start to feel sorry for mysef. When God nudges me to look to him in the light of God’s Word, then feeling sorry for myself seems foolish.