Reading Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus, we find these profound words:
“But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them.” – Luke 2:19
This little jewel of a sentence is sandwiched between the account of the shepherds finding Mary and Joseph and the baby laying in a manger, and a description of the group telling others what they have seen, glorifying and praising God.
It’s like the camera pans out to capture the excited, babbling bunch who can hardly believe their eyes, then zooms in on a quiet, pensive Mary for a moment, then pans back out to follow the electrified shepherds as they go and spread the amazing news.
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When it comes to life-affirming ministry, Mary serves as a wonderful role model.
Mary was a woman of faith and obedience. She refused to allow desperation to dictate her choices. She said yes to God’s plan, trusting Him above all.
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Mary was thoughtful. Although quite young—perhaps 14 to 16—she was already wise enough to place great value on God’s promises and to think deeply about her life in relation to what God had spoken.
She must have been wondering how all the pieces were going to come together as she stepped into her role as mother of the Messiah.
Surely she hadn’t expected to give birth away from her hometown in a shelter made for animals. She hadn’t pictured laying her firstborn down in a feeding trough as his first little bed.
What other surprises awaited her?
One of the greatest ways God shows us grace is by giving us just enough information for the next step, but not so much that we are overwhelmed.
He knows our propensity for trying to take control.
Instead of pondering and meditating, we tend to worry, scheme, and strategize. We get caught up in negative questions like: “What if…?” and “How am I going to…?”
This applies to many areas of our lives, including our ministries.
Ironically, we share the good news of Jesus with our clients, looking for opportunities to tell them how much God loves them, how He has always cared about the details of their lives, how valuable they are to Him—yet we may forget to apply these truths to ourselves.
In the last few days, I’ve been running across Scripture passages which remind me of God’s great care and concern for me personally.
Perhaps you need to hear these words, too—not for your clients, but for yourself.
If you’re having negative thoughts about your life, ministry, or even your age:
“Listen to me, all…who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth. I will be the same until your old age, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will bear and rescue you.” –Isaiah 46:3-4
If you can tell others about how well God understands them, but you’ve forgotten how intimately He knows you:
“LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away. You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, LORD. You have encircled me; you have placed your hand on me. This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.” –Psalm 139:1-6
If you know the pro-life message backwards and forwards, but you’ve forgotten that God knows your every move—that He saw you even as an embryo and fetus:
“For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb… My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret...Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.” –Psalm 139:13, 15-16.
If your theology is solid in terms of God knowing and valuing people before they are born, but you have a hard time connecting the dots to your own personal experience:
“The LORD called me before I was born. He named me while I was in my mother’s womb…” –Isaiah 49:1b.
If you believe God loves people, but you’ve had a hard time feeling His love for yourself:
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the child of her womb? Even if these forget, yet I will not forget you.” –Isaiah 49:15.
Allow me to encourage you to slow down as you read these familiar words. Let them sink into your soul.
These are profound messages to you from the God who made you, named you, and called you. They are rock-solid promises about how He always has, and always will, carry, sustain, and nurture you.
No matter where your ministry journey takes you, no matter what happens in your life, God is intimately concerned with the details of your story.
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He is deeply, incredibly compassionate toward you.
This Christmas let’s offer more than mental assent to the truth that God loves us.
Like Mary, let’s meditate on these things—and treasure them in our hearts.
