Your Daily Devotional for December 15, 2007

 

December 15,  2007

 

 

Being Used of God

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God."

 

Luke 1:27–30

 

 

In this passage, we see the story of the angel Gabriel coming to Mary and announcing the birth of Jesus. He tells her that God had chosen her to carry His Son to be born so He could save the world from their sins. What an exciting promise! God's Word says that Mary was highly favored among women. This was a great honor that was bestowed upon Mary.

 

What made Mary so special? Why was she highly favored by God, as verse 28 says, "And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." Why did God choose Mary through which to send His Son to earth instead of another woman in Israel?

 

Mary was prepared. It is prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 that Jesus would be born to a virgin,"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

 

Mary was morally pure. She had remained chaste and pure throughout her life. She followed God's laws, allowing God to use her in a mighty way.

 

So many times we want to be used of God, but we don't want to obey His guidelines. We want God to bless our lives, but we refuse to give our lives to Him. Mary understood that there were rules to be followed if she wanted to be used of God, and she obeyed them. Is following our own rules and "doing our own thing" so important to us that we would forfeit the blessings that God wants to give to us?

 

When Nicolo Paganina, the great Italian violinist, died, he willed his fine instrument to his home city of Genoa. His bequest carried one condition. The violin was never to be played; it would simply be placed on display. But a finely crafted stringed instrument needs to be used and handled regularly if its beauty and value are to be retained. As a result of Paganini's request, his marvelous violin became nothing more than a decaying form.

 

Do you want to be used by God? Don't allow your life to be wasted by not letting Christ use you. What in your life may be holding you back from being used by God? Remove any hindrances from your life that are preventing Him. Seek God today and let Him use you to do amazing things for His glory!

 

Daily Bible Reading

Amos 1-3 • Revelation 6

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