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 means that if God is present in our lives, we will never have a dull moment.

Much of life is predictably boring because we spend so much time doing the same thing every day with no real change. We have little or no expectation that God would surprise us with fresh insights into His person and purpose. Most of us desire change, but we are unwilling to go through the process of attempting something new and different. We can get so comfortable that we avoid being uncomfortable. This resistance stems from our desire to control and understand everything.

When was the last time God directed you to do something out of your comfort zone, and how long did it take you to obey?

God will lead us through a mind shift before He can do something new in and through us. He does it by calling us to step out in faith into unknown and unfamiliar season. We, like Mary in the first Christmas story, will have those moments of self-doubt and fear, surprise and hesitation, uncertainty, and confusion. However, like her, we can learn to fully trust God and experience His reassuring presence and promises along the way.

As we prepare to celebrate another Christmas, think about the mind shift you will need to make as you trust God with your life and future.