Study Material: Luke 1:35 & 38
35 And the angel answered 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 called holy— the Son of God.
38 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.
Today’s Teaching:
In so many instances, we see that when people partner with God, the project comes afterwards. Take for example Abraham. When he was yet Abram and God called him to leave his family and his home to a land that God would show him, he followed. He agreed to a partnership with God. He went with God. It would be much later that Abraham would learn about the project. After years of Abraham showing God that he was faithful to their partnership, God gave him his covenant son Isaac, the one through whom the project of his chosen people Israel would come.
Noah was another example. It was only after Noah’s demonstration of his faithfulness to God that he was given the project of building the ark. The partnership came first. The angel told her that she would be overcome by the Holy Spirit and would eventually be pregnant and give birth to the Son of God (v35). Mary was not perturbed. She said that this was fine. Why? Because she was already a partner with God (v38a). She was already a servant of God. This project for which she was chosen was only a product of their partnership.
Many of us want God to back our projects. We are praying for God to give us money to do something or the other. We want a new job or promotion or maybe there is a need for deliverance in our family. Maybe we have troubles on every side and need the help of God. Those are all projects; but is He already your partner. The partnership comes before the project. When you are His partner, He can give you projects that you least expect. Maybe you have things backwards. Why not try the reverse by putting the partnership before the project?
Homework; Talk to God today. Maybe the delay in your answered prayer stems from the fact that you have not shown God that you are serious about your partnership. Why not recommit to Him today?
35 And the angel answered 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 called holy— the Son of God.
38 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.
Today’s Teaching:
In so many instances, we see that when people partner with God, the project comes afterwards. Take for example Abraham. When he was yet Abram and God called him to leave his family and his home to a land that God would show him, he followed. He agreed to a partnership with God. He went with God. It would be much later that Abraham would learn about the project. After years of Abraham showing God that he was faithful to their partnership, God gave him his covenant son Isaac, the one through whom the project of his chosen people Israel would come.
Noah was another example. It was only after Noah’s demonstration of his faithfulness to God that he was given the project of building the ark. The partnership came first. The angel told her that she would be overcome by the Holy Spirit and would eventually be pregnant and give birth to the Son of God (v35). Mary was not perturbed. She said that this was fine. Why? Because she was already a partner with God (v38a). She was already a servant of God. This project for which she was chosen was only a product of their partnership.
Many of us want God to back our projects. We are praying for God to give us money to do something or the other. We want a new job or promotion or maybe there is a need for deliverance in our family. Maybe we have troubles on every side and need the help of God. Those are all projects; but is He already your partner. The partnership comes before the project. When you are His partner, He can give you projects that you least expect. Maybe you have things backwards. Why not try the reverse by putting the partnership before the project?
Homework; Talk to God today. Maybe the delay in your answered prayer stems from the fact that you have not shown God that you are serious about your partnership. Why not recommit to Him today?