Third Week of Advent

THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT

Bill Welte has encouraged this week to think about the Prayer of Jabez and how we can apply it to our lives. We're approaching the third week of Advent, and it occurs to me that Mary saw much of Jabez's prayer answered in her own life.

We know so little about Mary. Her aspirations, other than becoming Joseph's wife, are unclear. Did she ask God to let her bring the Messiah into the world? I doubt it. Did she ask God to do incredibly wonderful things in her life? Probably not. We assume, by the fact that God chose her to give birth to Jesus, that she was humbly and faithfully before the Lord. Yet God did amazing things for her and through her.

I'll make another assumption. Most of us who read Freedom Fighter live simple lives. We're not "movers and shakers." We don't influence world events. We go to work, come home, spend time with our families, and start all over the next day. Our expectations are probably no less awe-inspiring that Mary's.

That's where God comes in. Even if Mary didn't pray the prayer, God blessed her. He expanded her territory of influence to include the whole world! She lived with God's presence and He protected her from evil.

May it be so with us. We go forward choosing freedom in Christ. We live humbly and faithfully before God. We stay true to what we know is right and good. In choosing to live that way, we make it possible for God to bless us, expand our territory, and know His presence. God loves us no less than He loved Mary. He's not going to use us just like He used Mary. Our spheres of influence probably won't expand like Mary's'.


He will bless us, though. He will give us influence for His Kingdom.
He will walk with us. And, He will protect us from evil. You and I can link Mary's Advent experience with the prayer of Jabez. We can anticipate God coming into our lives in remarkable ways to bless us and accomplish His purposes. The key is to walk humbly and faithfully in the yoke with Jesus and wait for God to work.

Jabez's prayer is important. So is Mary's when she prays "Let it be to according to your word." We pray. We wait. God works. That's what Jesus coming into your world and mine is all about! (First Baptist Toms River - Pastor John's Strain)

Great Quote: He became like us that He might make us like Him. Alan Redpath