God's Will

All your circumstances are in the hand of God so never think it strange concerning the circumstances you’re in.-Oswald Chambers

Today the Catholic Church celebrates the annunciation of the Lord to the teenaged Mary. Count the months. It is exactly nine months until we celebrate Christmas – the birth of Christ.

Nobody really knows the actual date that Jesus was born, so no one really knows when the Angel Gabriel came to tell Mary her big news. A nice spring day is probably as good a time as any. I’m sure that the Church had some bigger reason to choose December 25 as the day Christ was born.

What a surprise it must have been for that young girl to receive the news she did on that day. Talk about strange circumstances. Luke’s gospel tells us that Mary didn’t hesitate, but accepted God’s challenge. I hope that a bolt of lightening doesn’t strike me down as I write, but I think that Mary likely gave the whole idea some second and third and maybe fourth thoughts.

First of all, she must have thought that there was some mistake. The Jews believed that when the Messiah came, He would be a king, or maybe a strong warrior. Who else could save the Jews after so many years of persecution? She was, after all, just a poor Jewish girl living in Nazareth. This couldn’t be right.

And then, even if God was choosing her, did she really want to take on this tremendous task? The Son of God! The thought had to be terrifying.

And what about her betrothal to Joseph? I’m sure she thought that he would divorce her and leave her to accept this fate alone. And her family? They would never believe her.

But though Oswald Chambers was born nearly two thousand years later, he had it exactly right. Mary knew that all of her circumstances were in the hand of God. She trusted Him and accepted the invitation.

I mentioned before that I am taking a class on Islam. The Islam religion has many peculiarities, but there is one thing about it that I think is very beautiful. Muslims believe that everything that happens on this earth is in the hands of God. As such, they don’t have such a thing as intercessionary prayer. There is no reason, in their minds, to ask God for anything, because they believe that everything that happens is God’s will. All of their prayers are prayers of thanksgiving.

Now I would lose my mind if I couldn’t pray for God’s intercession in my life, and I believe that God listens to my prayer. Still, I think the notion that “all circumstances are in the hand of God” is beautiful.