Let it Be

Advent Day 6

Luke 1:38 ESV

Ecclesiastes 3:1 ESV

Romans 8:26-31 ESV

When the Angel had delivered the message to the Virgin Mary she had a very brief response.

In Luke 1:38 we read, “And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”

Mary the young woman heard and accepted the words of the Angel.

She did not argue or complain.

She did not doubt.

She accepted the great challenge she was given. We do not know if Mary fully understood the implications of what God was doing and was going to do. She only knew God chose her.

Somehow, even in her youth Mary knew that God had a purpose for her in the big scheme of life. She knew her world was broken but God was in charge.

She believed God had an answer.

I think that’s a little more than remarkable for a girl at such a young age. Mary did not know what tomorrow would bring. She only knew that God chose her and she said yes.

Mary said, let it be.

It seems just a little interesting that the title to the Beatles song, “Let It Be” is found in scripture.

The lyrics in the second stanza say:

“And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree

There will be an answer, let it be.

For though they may be parted, there is still a chance they will see,

There will be an answer, let it be.

Let it be, let it be, let it be,

There will be an answer, let it be.”

The words to that timeless song speak eons to those of us who have experienced what it’s like to be broken hearted. That’s because when we are broken we come to a point where we stop and look beyond ourselves. We have no other choice but to survey the broken pieces and believe there is something more, something greater that will provide answers.

In her wisdom, Mary believed that God would provide everything she needed exactly when she needed it.

Her reply, “let it be” was her surrender to God. She knew God would provide the answer to what her future held.

Even before she met the ONE who would come, the child she would carry and nurture, she believed.

I think that’s what amazes me most about Mary. Even before she knew the way, the truth, and the life she believed God would provide the way, the truth, and the life.

I have long felt like Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes 3:1 are truer than true: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”

With each passing year I have become more and more aware that God has a time and a purpose for everything. God even has a purpose for our broken pieces.

The Apostle Paul knew it when he wrote in Romans 8:26-31, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

All things work together for good, because if God is FOR us who can be AGAINST us? Even though I know those words and the meaning of those words, I sometimes forget the magnitude of those words.

If God is for us, who can be against us?

Mary seemed to know and believe that whatever God had for her would serve a purpose. She did not question what that purpose could be. She simple said, let it be.

Even though she was a very young woman she believed that God was for her and because God was for her, who could stand against her?

That’s why God chose her. God knew what she was capable of doing. God knew she would carry the holy child. God knew she would teach Him the ways of God the Father when He was young. God knew she would let the child be wise beyond His years. God knew she would hold Him in her heart when His time to speak came.

God knew she would be with Him as He breathed His last breath.

God KNEW she would turn to God when it seemed like all hope was gone.

She could not have imagined that three days later her boy Jesus would conquer death and rise again.

Mary simply knew God had a plan and she said, let it be.

Spiritual Practice: Say Let it Be

Even if you don’t know the plan, tell God let it be.

In God, Deborah

acrazyjourney.com