“And Mary said, “Behold, the Lord’s bond-servant; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” Luke 1:38 NASB2020https://bible.com/bible/2692/luk.1.38.NASB2020

Does the Lord have permission to ‘wreck’ our lives? He is always good so He never really wrecks our lives but we can sure feel that way. Of course, the Lord needs no permission from us but our attitude toward Him will be affected by our understanding of His right to do with us whatever He pleases. Mary saw herself as a slave to God. Mary understood a slave has no rights but is subject to the whim and will of the master. If God wanted her to appear a whore before her community, costing her honor, a husband, and her reputation, then that was up to God. Mary embraced the will of God because she trusted in the good character of God. This is the key to our walking with God when things are not easy, comfortable, or in alignment with our desires. Job’s friends accused Job of evil to explain his difficult circumstances. Job argued his integrity before his friends and wanted an explanation from God for allowing evil in his life. Job loved God and always did what was right so thought he deserved an explanation from God for his trying circumstances. This response, wanting God to explain Himself, is not as noble as Mary’s response which is to accept her circumstances as a servant of God trusting in the nature of God to work things out for good in the end. When life is hard we do ask why and certainly want God to fix it. The why is easy though not always palatable, our sin, the sin of others, the world’s sin, and or the devil’s sin, all work together against us and cause trouble for us. God is always good. This must be our hope and trust. He has demonstrated His goodness through Jesus loving us through His life, death, and resurrection, making forgiveness for sin complete and life with God in perfection certain. Until we pass from this world, we will have trouble, but we must take heart, Jesus has overcome the world.