Worship
“O Come Let Us Adore Him” by Maverick City featuring Chandler Moore and Jekalyn Carr
Scripture
“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”
“But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 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?”
“And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God.And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
“And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. For nothing will be impossible with God.”” -Luke 1:26-38, ESV
Understanding Mary’s Response
Oh the anticipation of marriage that Mary must have felt. The day was coming when she and her beloved Joseph would consummate what God had brought together. Perhaps she was counting down the days in both anticipation and timidity. And one day the angel appears to her and intercepts her whole life. Her betrothal, marriage, and wedding night were not going to be the normal plan of events any longer. In fact, she would carry within her the very life of Heaven supernaturally. The Holy Spirit would come, anoint her with favor, overshadow her, and touch her womb with life. Everything would look so different for Mary, but she didn’t hesitate. Faith surrounded her for the glorious impossibility of God.
Mary offered her womb to God for the very person of Christ to be born through.
She was called and commissioned by the God of the universe for an impossible task that only He could do. And she was called to it before the foundations of the Earth were laid. She was called, but God had to fulfill the calling. I believe that the Lord prepared her heart for the invitation and knew that the humility He gifted her with would be the fertile soil for the promise to be planted within. Her spiritual womb had been prepared in advance of the physical manifestation of this life inside of her. And a response of worship was all she wanted to give. I can only imagine what Her YES sounded like as it reverberated throughout Heaven. I wonder if the angels matched it with a symphony unheard of through all the ages. We know a song was being written in her (Luke 1:46-55).
Mary’s life was an offering to Heaven.
I believe that the Lord prepared her heart for the invitation and knew that the humility He gifted her with would be the fertile soil for the promise to be planted within. Her spiritual womb had been prepared in advance of the physical manifestation of this life inside of her.
She had two things to give the Lord in His glorious invitation to bear His Son. She had her YES, and she had her womb. Her agreement and her body were presented to the Lord in an offering that changed everything for humanity.
This is so profound to me. God comes to us with an invitation and asks us if we will give our YES and our lives to contain the YES. Will we give God our YES no matter the sacrifice or the shame or scorn? Will we give God our YES when He asks for the physical sacrifice demanded of us? Can God have our worship when it costs us everything? Can He have our faith when He calls us to do something in which we have zero experience or context for understanding? What if we looked at the invitation and we pictured the womb of Mary and with immediacy declared, “Nothing is impossible with God”?
A Personal Example
Recently, the Lord, through my precious boss, Kristen, invited me to step into another level of trust and faith. I have been on staff with East-West in a salaried position for two years. Out of the blue, Kristen came to me and asked me to pray about becoming a supported missionary with East-West and to continue to lead Arise with a team of donors who would fuel my ministry. The Holy Spirit had already prepared my heart just a couple of weeks prior, so with joy I could respond with an enthusiastic YES. What I didn’t look at as I gave God my YES was the fact that 2020 was the most outlandish and trauma-filled year to raise support and build a team of donors with so much uncertainty financially, politically, etc. Entire organizations are cutting their budgets by 30%, and now I’m jumping out on a limb to raise funding in this environment. And I gave God my YES because I know that nothing is impossible with HIM.
We partner with God to birth the things of God through our spiritual wombs.
God prepares our spiritual wombs for both assignments and callings. He gets us ready to receive the seed of invitation in agreement with our YES. From there, the Holy Spirit overshadows us with the grace to walk out what God desires to bring forth. He sanctifies us as we carry Jesus into the calling. He nourishes our very life with His Word and His presence, creating an environment for the calling to grow into fulfillment. And life comes forth that has the DNA of Heaven on it. And we wonder at the goodness and the faithfulness of God to bring forth something of such great worth from our simple offering of our lives.
I have so many dear friends who have given God their YES, no matter the cost. And they wait and they wait for the fulfillment of that baby coming forth from their lives. In the meantime He gives them dreams of being pregnant to keep their hearts and minds focused that He is at work creating within them the life of Christ that will impact generations and cities and marketplaces and nations.
God is touching spiritual wombs and making us pregnant with His purposes in this hour!
My friend Celeste said to me recently, “The Lord is leading me to say, ‘YES,’ but I don’t know what that looks like.” Amen! We don’t have to know what Jesus will look like when the promise comes forth. He just needs to hear that we trust Him and our lives are offerings we lay at His feet. Today, will you just say to the Lord, “Make me pregnant with your purposes, God.” I am sure Mary was intimidated by the encounter she was given, but her faith arose, and she gave God her life and her womb for His purposes.
God’s Continuing Work
“Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.” -Isaiah 46:11, ESV
“Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.” – Jeremiah 1:12, ESV
“The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord , endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.” -Psalm 138:8, ESV
“There’s been an intense battle over a ‘word of the Lord’ in the lives of many which has escalated intensely over the last few months. This battle has been fierce not only because of the incredible demonstration of His power and faithfulness to you in Him fulfilling that which He has spoken, but the MANIFESTATION of what HE has spoken in your life is going to change the trajectory of your life in such a significant way, which will move you into the glorious unexpected directions of the Lord’s hand.” -prophetic word from Lana Vawser, December 3, 2020
The cross was a womb for new life!
A Prayer of Response
In Mary’s womb and on the cross on Golgotha, life was born for all of humanity. The womb of a woman and the womb of a cross bore us life! In our spiritual birth and in the losing of our lives for His life, we find true life. We have an invitation as followers of Jesus to go with Him no matter what it costs because in losing our lives, we find Him. In laying down our agendas, we pick up the agenda of Heaven. In laying down our fear or hesitancy at the feet of Jesus as worship, He places His blood and His freedom and His power on us and calls us into His greater purposes. It’s what He does. And today, this month, as we close out 2020, we get to offer Him the wombs of our lives for His life to be born inside of us and through us. Wonder overshadows us when in humility we let Him do whatever He wants to do. In cancer. In calling. In job transition. In barrenness. In suffering. All of these places are spiritual wombs for the life of Chist to be implanted. So let’s pray together for these things and ask Him to anoint them.
Jesus, I bring to You this morning my spiritual womb, that perhaps feels barren or one that is full that I don’t want to carry any longer. I pray, Jesus, for a touch of Your favor and anointing over the life of my sister—in tears or in rejoicing. I pray that You would cultivate the soil of her heart to believe You and to trust You. I pray that she would be surrounded right now by Your grace for the journey. I pray that it would be a sacred, holy, protected, and nourished journey with You till You bring this baby forth. I pray for a supernatural deposit of faith on her today. I pray that she would mount up on wings of eagles. I pray that her position would be continually at the throne of grace. Release to her the songs You are singing over her in this hour. I pray for paths to be leveled beneath her feet so her ankles do not turn. Strengthen her in in her innermost being. Let worship be her shield and buckler. I pray for vision of You, Jesus. Release dreams to her in the night watches that would strengthen her. And I pray an anointing of authority as she prays and worships her way to the birth day of Your promises in her life. What You have begun, You will be faithful to complete. And nothing will thwart the promises You have written over her life. Bless her today with a tangible manifestation of Your presence and Your power as You touch her spiritual womb, in Jesus’ name. Amen!
Lead a Small Group in January
In January we are going to be intentionally spending 31 days pursuing Jesus, just like we did for January 2020. I am looking for women to invite one to four other women to go through “Arise My Darling” with them. You would invite your women to follow you into the secret place with Jesus with you. You can purchase this book on Amazon. I just need you to email me at [email protected] if you will be taking up this calling in January. I am praying for 100 women to lead a small group. I will walk you through all the details of what this looks like, but right now I just need your yes. There are women who are DYING for hope and need to know the love and presence of Jesus. Let’s go get them!
