365 Days with God - Day 2

I'm giving myself a challenge. Read the Bible each day for a whole year, following the ESV Study Guide 1-year plan. Each day, I will post whatever God has revealed to me in His Word, and how it is changing me. A friend of mine once said that nothing has changed her life as much as reading the bible each day - and I'm excited for how this will change me. Join me on an adventure into the heart of God - and day by day, we can learn more about who He is and what that means to us!

- Andy Catts

Day 2, December 22, 2013
Readings: Psalm 1, Genesis 2, 1 Chronicles 2, Luke 1:26-56

Still sick. Remembering Ecclesiastes from yesterday. Being grateful that God has granted me the grace to learn from this, instead of wallowing in my self-pity. And so, when my wonderful firstborn daughter woke me from what little sleep I got last at 6:30, I resolved to keep reading. To see what God had for me this morning. And to not pass off my commitment to Him because of some lame excuse.

But right now, I'm not really sure how I'm doing this. I'm trying to keep my 2 1/2 year old from tearing the house apart, waking my wife, and generally causing mayhem. My 6-month old is balanced on one knee as I type, and I'm trying to keep her from face-planting into the keyboard. What am I doing? How is this possible?

Many in the Bible have asked that same question. But the key is in the response they gave to God's (seemingly) crazy requests. Today, Mary's response in Luke 1 stood out to me:

"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" Luke 1: 31-34

This stands in stark contrast to most of my questions to God, and many others in the Bible. I often ask why, when, what...and I doubt. Mary, however, has no doubt. She has accepted that God will do this - she merely asks how. So much is contained in that one word. It speaks volumes in three letters. She trusts that God will do what He says he will do - and asks how.

How will God work in her life for the good of His people? He has just told her that she will bear the savior of Israel, nay, the world. She, and countless others, have waited for this day for thousands of years. This is, to put it lightly, legendary. But she does not waver. She merely asks "How." What is her role in His plan?

So now I must ask, when God calls me to action: "How?" Not my normal who/what/when/where/why! But how. Trusting that God will provide the answers to the rest - but how can I put myself at His disposal. He is my king, and I his servant.