perplexed

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:26-38, NRSV)

What would you do if an angel came and greeted you?

I know what I would probably do. I would probably run away screaming at the top of my lungs like a little girl…

It would scare me. I am not afraid to admit it. I think God believes it would scare people as well, since every time an angel appears to people, they usually say, “Do not be afraid.”

But Mary is perplexed. Which is confused, or in amazement. And she listens to all the angel has to say, and replies, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

Most of us would have said, “Yea right! Who are you and where is the camera?” I would be wondering if I was dreaming or on some TV show.

But God sent His message and Mary responded. And that is what God wants from us. A response of, “Yes it seems a little far-fetched, but you are God so I will believe you and have it done as you say.”

If we could be amazed and wondering about God all the time, we might follow after Him and be blessed beyond our wildest imaginations!

clings

O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name. My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:1-8, NRSV)

How many of you have ever had that sock that is just stuck to your jeans when it comes out of the dryer?

It doesn’t seem to happen as much any more. Maybe dryers have developed over the years to not build up static electricity.

But I always remember that sock that would just not come off the jeans. It was clinging there for life…

That is the image I get from this psalm, of us clinging to God, for life!

For His steadfast love is better than life, and He will give us what we need and be a shelter for us in the storm.

So cling to Him, and know He will hold you up!

Comfort

So the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. I, I am he who comforts you; why then are you afraid of a mere mortal who must die, a human being who fades like grass? You have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. You fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction. But where is the fury of the oppressor? The oppressed shall speedily be released; they shall not die and go down to the Pit, nor shall they lack bread. For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of hosts is his name. I have put my words in your mouth, and hidden you in the shadow of my hand, stretching out the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, “You are my people.” (Isaiah 51:11-16, NRSV)

Sorrow and sighing will flee!

God will be with His people and will comfort them and give them Joy!

The oppressed will be released and God will comfort His people. He will hide us in the shadow of His hand and protect us.

The creator of all the world has said that He will comfort those who love Him. It is a promise.

So this season as we wait for Him, let us not lose sight of the promise of comfort and joy that will meet us soon and very soon!

Joy

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God. (Acts 16:25-34, NRSV)

When you think of joy what do you think of?

I have to admit the first thing that comes to mind is happy. If I am filled with joy I am happy…

Well here Paul and Silas are in prison, praying and singing. They are so filled with the joy of the Lord that they can not help but sing and pray to God even from prison!

Have you ever experienced this joy? That even in the darkest moment, you feel the presence of God that you can sing and pray and praise Him!

That is what the jailer had when he discovered that the prisoners were still there. Such joy that he would not die. The darkness all around him had vanished.

That is how we can live everyday! Filled with the joy of the Lord! Singing and praying to Him always giving Him praise!

Pain

Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’? Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. (John 16:19-24, NRSV)

This is a great passage, because it reminds me of a story I heard one day on the radio. The DJs were asking people about pain and how they dealt with it, and they got on the topic of kidney stones and child-birth. And a woman called in and said that the pain of kidney stones to her was worse than child-birth, because at the end of child-birth and all the extreme labor, she got to hold her child. There was a reward!

The kidney stone just passed and the memory of the pain was all that was left. Now one could possibly hold the kidney stone, but it is not the same as the child.

And that is the promise here. That the joy we will experience will be such greater than the pain we have now that it will not matter.

So endure the pain, knowing the joy will far out weigh what you are facing now!