How Will This Be?

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel,

"since I am a virgin?"

The angel answered,

"The Holy Spirit will come on you,

and the power of the Most High will overshadow you."

Lk 1:34-35, NIV

Hundreds of times (if not well over a thousand) I have read or heard the above passage. Today, however, it strikes my eardrums in a new way and beckons me to linger for a while in thought. 

I am no woman but I can relate to Mary completely as a person. 

Who wouldn't fret upon seeing an angel?

Who wouldn't wonder about their shortcomings?

Who wouldn't question the impossibility of the task?

Indeed, I find myself asking God over and over again, "How will this be since I am a 'virgin'?" Spiritually speaking, I am a 'virgin' because I do not consider myself intimately acquainted with the monumental tasks the Lord has set before me. I feel woefully deficient, or even laughable, when contemplating the paths God has called me to take. Every new corner reveals yet again to my heart that I am too little, too weak, too poor, too scant, too limited, too incompetent to accomplish anything truly worthwhile, anything that will withstand the test of time.

I find that I am nothing . . . 

                                      . . . yet the Lord is my everything!

And because He is my everything, the angel's response to Mary overwhelms my senses with joy:

"The Holy Spirit will come on you . . ."

It is not my spirit that can do anything for God; it is Christ's Spirit that strengthens my weak heart to do anything and everything He has prepared in advance for me to do. 

" . . . and the power of the Most High will overshadow you."

It is not the power of my diminutive self that can effect lasting change; it is the omnipotence of my Heavenly King that empowers my surrendered tongue to be a witness for Christ in my own Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the earth.

Of course, looking at things from an earthly perspective, I cannot pull off on my own all the things the Father has called me to do:

I cannot love Him with all I am, all I have, and all I hope to be. I cannot love my fellow human being as I truly love myself. I cannot be the perfect Christ-follower, husband, father, son, brother, friend, teacher, singer, pianist, writer, speaker, gardener, etc. that I desire to be. 

Apart from Him I can do nothing.

And so I appreciate the angel's response. 

His words resonate with my life so tangibly. 

As I face the worries and fears accompanying the heavenly tasks set before me, it is reassuring to be reminded of the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit." (Zech 4:6, NIV)

What joy!
What peace!

It is not my job to achieve anything in my own power.
It is my calling to receive the power that enables me to bear fruit in Christ.

I need to lean my weakness on the Father's omnipotence. I need to surrender my inadequacies to His perfection. I need to be reminded of His Spirit coming upon me. I need to rehearse daily that the Lord stands poised and ready to overshadow me, to take over the reins of my heart, and to perform wonders in the world through me.

No fear in my heart
No frailty in my being
No frustration in my mind

No feebleness attached to me at all can hamper or hinder God's sure work in the world. His Spirit will come upon me and overshadow me, through thick and thin, plenty and want, to advance His Kingdom.

Thank You, Father!