The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

Luke 1:28-29 (NIV)

 

Many supernatural happenings occurred during the first coming of Jesus. Angelic appearances, divine guidance in dreams and heavenly visions, two miraculous conceptions, and a wondrous star. All of this goes to say, if God engages in our lives, we can be sure we will never experience a dull moment.

Much of life is dull because we spend so much time doing the same thing every day with no meaningful change. We have little or no expectation that God will continue to surprise us with new insights into His person and purpose.

Most of us want change, but we do not want to go through the process of trying something new and different. We can become so comfortable that we resist being uncomfortable. This resistance comes from our need to control and understand everything.

God must change our mindset before He can do something new, and He reinforces the change by calling us to step out in faith into unknown and unfamiliar territory. When was the last time God led you to do something, and how long did it take you to obey?

We, like Mary in the first Christmas story, have those moments of self-doubt and fear, surprise and hesitation, uncertainty, and confusion But, like her, we can discover God to be a gracious and promising God. It is only when we fully surrender ourselves to God that we can experience His reassuring presence and promises to us.

As we prepare to celebrate another Christmas this year, take time to reflect what mind shift you will have to make before you can trust God with your life and future.