Confirmation

8/8/2020

Luke 1:35 “That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

When the angel spoke to Mary about what she was called to do, she did not hesitate to receive this purpose, even though her circumstances could have radically changed. She was betrothed to Joseph and not yet married, so initially she was confused. The angel told her that this miracle would come through the Holy Spirit. Then she was told she would bear the Son of God. I cannot even imagine what that moment was like for such a young and innocent girl. Her faith must have been immensely strong to respond with these words written in John 1:38, “I am the Lord’s servant…May your word to me be fulfilled.” She had such powerful and amazing devotion to the Lord, where her common sense or practical thinking didn’t even enter in.

I wish I could say the same for myself. Even as I was feeling God’s call to write Blooms of Faith, I questioned if I was up to it. I did not feel confident or adept enough in my writing skills, let alone my ability to formally reflect on the writings of the brilliant preacher and scholar Oswald Chambers. This is a man who humbly wrote, “It takes me a long while to realize that God has no respect for anything I bring him. All he wants from me is unconditional surrender.” Wow! I certainly did not feel qualified, and I may very well have not even begun this journey if the Holy Spirit did not prompt my son to encourage me. The interesting part about that encouragement is that I had not told anyone about the call I was experiencing; it just seemed so absurd to me. However, when we were playing a game on New Year’s Eve and chatting, out it came while we were talking about what the New Year could bring. “Hey Mom,” he said, “I think you should start a blog about My Utmost for His Highest.” My jaw dropped, and I could not even speak. I had gotten the confirmation that this was what I should do. If only I hadn’t needed that confirmation. If only I would have had that unconditional surrender and devotion to God that my answer right away would have been yes. The stakes for Mary were infinitely higher, but her answer was that of total submission to God. Her faith was simple and complete to her Heavenly Father.

In our world today, as it has been throughout history, God is being pushed out of the personal as well as society. People replace faith in Jesus with all forms of ideas and vices. Even Christians sometimes let the draw and din of the world divert them form communicating with their Savior. Chambers clearly had this in his world also as he writes, “Oh, the clamor of these days! Everyone is clamoring—for what? For the Son of God to be put to death. There is no room here for the Son of God just now, no room for quiet holy communion with the Father. Is the Son of God praying in me, or am I dictating to Him? Is he ministering to me as he did in the days of His flesh?”

Will I always make room for and surrender to Jesus, or will I be distracted by the sound and fury of this world? Will I take time to be still and listen to the call of my Lord?