Stop Looking At Your Own Limitations

“But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
Luke 1:30-34

Mary was given the greatest news that’s ever been told and what's even better is, she was invited to be apart of it! God sent an angel to her to let her know of the coming messiah and the part she was to play in it.

There is just one problem. Mary has her eyes on the wrong thing. When told that she will give birth to a son and he will be the Son of God and that he will rule forever, she seems to forget who she is talking to, because she asks, how can this be?

In other words, she’s looking at her own limitations. She is a virgin, how can she give birth to a child? She’s got her eyes on herself. She’s focusing on what she can contribute to the situation, whereas God is not looking for her to contribute, He’s looking for her openness.

For a moment she has forgotten that the God of the Universe, who brought all things into being, can do anything he wants. If he can create a man from the dust of the ground, he can certainly create life inside of her womb.

Too often when God comes to us, we start looking inward for what we can contribute or a way that we can help Him, when the only thing He is asking from us is to trust Him to do it! He comes to Moses and Moses gives him his limitations. I’m slow of speech, he says. He came to Mary and she says this sounds impossible because of her limitations, she's not married and she's a virgin.

God is not looking for our excuses, He is looking for our “yes.” What excuses are you giving God right now when it comes to your life? I’ve given Him every excuse in the book. I’m too young, I’m too old, I’m not smart enough, I’m not very likable.

Every excuse I present, I’m expressing my own limitations. The funny part is that I think God chooses us for some tasks precisely because of our limitations. He chooses us because He knows we can’t do it on our own and if He does it, He will get all of the glory for it.

When God comes to us like this, our job is not to look inward, but to look upward. Look to Him! He is the one who is going to do this miraculous thing. Only God could create life in Mary’s womb. Only God could put a king on the throne of David who will rule forever. Only God!

This is the gospel in the nutshell. We couldn’t save ourselves, so God came to us. He came as a baby through a virgin and died on a wooden cross for our sins. He did what we couldn’t do. He wasn’t limited by our limitations and He never will be, so be open to what God wants to do in your life! After all, He’s the one that is going to do it!

Prayer - Father, thank you for redirected our gaze outward. Our eyes are fixed on you this holiday season. Whatever you want to do in us and through us, we submit ourselves to you. You are faithful and you alone can overcome any of our limitations! Praise God! Amen.