Have you ever been waiting for something and the anticipation made its arrival seem like an eternity? I remember being young and my mom promising us that we could go to White Water. It’s this water park in Georgia that has lots of different water rides. In the hot summers of Georgia being able to hang out in water all day, add in fun activities to the water and it was a kids dream come true. The anticipation was excruciating though. I swear that was the longest wait. I aged three years in the month or so it took for us to actually go. Can anyone relate to that kind of anticipation?

Advent is the season of anticipation. It comes from the Latin, Adventus, which means coming. It is when we look back at the anticipation of the Messiah by Israel and our anticipation of HIs return. His coming as a baby brought hope, joy, and redemption for all of humanity.

God had been silent for 400 years when the events leading up to Jesus’ birth happened. No new scripture, no new direction for the nation of Israel and in truth it was mess. Israel is occupied by Rome. They are being taxed by that occupying force and ruled by a king they had put in place. The religious leaders of the day seem more interested in self-promotion and politics than they do shepherding the people of God, and the division among the people of God is sharp. You have the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the zealots, and the publicans.

All that to say, His arrival wasn’t into a neat situation. He arrived in the middle of a mess. He didn’t change the mess. He didn’t eliminate the mess. He worked in the mess. Luke records the announcement of His arrival like this.

Luke 1:26-34

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 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. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

If we aren’t careful, we will miss how difficult all of this would be for Mary. Often, I think, we believe that there was something extraordinary about Mary. That she was special and chosen specifically because of something about her. God must have chosen her because she had set herself apart in some way.

I understand why. The angel comes and says that a: she is highly favored and b: the Lord is with thee, and c: she is blessed among women. Can I tell you something? None of those statements are a reflection of Mary. They are a reflection of God. He was speaking life into her through the angel. God did the same thing to Gideon.

Judges 6:11-12

And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

There was nothing to that point that would indicate that Gideon was a might man of valor. There was nothing different or special about Gideon or Mary. They were just like you and me. What was special is God decided to use them for His purpose and so He was with them. What God purposes, He will fulfill.

He was there with them. In the middle of the chaos, in the middle of their mess, He chose them and used them. We are no different. The Lord is with us, we are highly favored, and it’s not because of us. It’s because of Him. He is here, that is why we can do great things.

The plan of God doesn’t mean that our lives will suddenly be sunshine and rainbows all the time. Sometimes we will have to work through the mess that is this life. What we can count on though, is that He is here with us. He is here to comfort, empower and direct us.

Because he is here, the mess becomes secondary. If we surrender to His will, there will be some bumps along the way, but it will be worth it. When we look at the life of Mary, the plan of God made her life a little bit messier. Imagine being 15 or 16 years old not yet married and God says you’re going to have a baby.

Single motherhood isn’t that big of deal in our culture, but in hers it was huge. It could actually get you killed. At the very least everyone would have been giving her the side eye. It took God sending an angel to Joseph for him to believe the story.

I know what we want. We want God to come into our lives and take away the mess, the pain, the problems we face. It’s not what I see God doing though. What I see God doing is working through the mess, through our pain, through our problems to bring glory to His name. I know, we want easier. I know, we want simpler. I get it. I want that too. I want to know that if I do the right thing that the results will be good for me right here and right now.

I wish I could tell you that would be true. I wish I could tell you that if you accept Jesus and pattern your life after Him, that everything will be smooth sailing. Your kids will never argue with you again. You will always get good grades in school. No one will aggravate you anymore, and you will have perfect relationships. But that isn’t life.

Life is messy, it’s difficult, and uncertain. What we can count on is that He is here and that is enough. He has birthed something in you and me that he will protect, nurture and grow. He gives us grace for the journey. Paul knew what that was like. He was wrestling with the mess. He wanted it to be different and he prayed for it to be so. The response he got is telling.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

The grace that God has placed in our life is sufficient. It is in our mess, in our weakness that God’s strength is revealed. Mary wasn’t special, His grace was. You and I aren’t special, His grace is. He is here, in us, so we can do what He has purposed us for. Stop waiting to be strong to do something for God. God brought His Son through a young girl in a manger.

God’s plan doesn’t happen through the right circumstances, but it happens in the middle of what needs to happen. He has chosen the foolish things of this world. He has given us His Spirit and He has given us the life of His Son to model. Do we have faith in Him? That is the only question. God is going to ask for the impossible. We won’t be able to do it, but He will be able to do it through us.

How can we know this? Look at the angel’s response to Mary when Mary said, how am I going to get pregnant when I have never been with a man before?

Luke 1:35-38

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

The impossible is possible with God. The Holy Ghost came upon Mary and Jesus was conceived in her. The Holy Ghost comes on us and Jesus is born into our hearts. The dead is brought to life. If God can bring life when there should be no life, then what can’t he fix in your life? What are you saying is impossible today, that God is saying is His will, therefore it is possible?

Let God work in the mess. May we respond as Mary responded. She said “behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to the word”. I hope next year we will be able to do a whole series on the word behold, but for now we should know that she is submitting to the will of God. She is allowing herself to be used as an instrument of His will.

Are we allowing it to be unto us according to His word? If Jesus was in your position, facing the same circumstances that you are, how would He respond? Would He do what you are doing? Be careful, because we are good at fooling ourselves. Do our actions reflect the word and will of God?

It’s messy and it’s hard, it may be impossible for us, but with God all things are possible. He can work in the mess you have going on. He can heal, deliver and restore anything. Let Him work in your mess today. Let it be done unto us according to His word.