RESPONDING TO BUMPS IN OUR PATH

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered.
“May your word to me be fulfilled.”
Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:38

All of us would like for life to be as smooth as possible with no ‘bumps in the road’.
We know how it feels when we are driving along thinking about any number of things
and suddenly we hit a pothole in the road.
Not only does it rattle our teeth, but our thinking shifts to things like,
“I wonder if I’ll have to get a realignment?”, or “Did I bend the rim on my tire?”
At any rate, ‘bumps’ of any kind can disrupt our lives.

We need to remember that sometimes these ‘bumps’ are designed by God.
Whenever His ‘bumps’ happen, we have a choice to make.
Do we continue to follow God during those times
or do we let problems take our focus off the Lord?
Unfortunately those with little faith can be lured away from the Lord
(and sometimes they are lured away by selfish desires when there are no ‘bumps’).

Mary experienced one of these ‘bumps’ designed by God.
She was faced with an unexpected pregnancy.
However, this was an unusual pregnancy
because there was no earthly father and she was a virgin!
Imagine how you would feel in her situation.
As an unmarried virgin, she was asked to have a baby.
Of course this meant she would be the target of ridicule
and few would “buy her story” that she was pregnant ‘by the Holy Spirit’.
The truth is her story was too unimaginable for anyone to believe.
In Matthew’s account, it is noted that Joseph even considered divorcing her
Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law,
and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace,
he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
Matthew 1:19.
For Mary to follow God, it meant a new life of shame and uncertainty.

Mary, however responded in a remarkable way, She said to the angel,
“May your word to me be fulfilled.”
Luke 1:38
Through her reply, we can see her real character and her dedication to God.
She was prepared to endure any doubt and ridicule to obey God.
God’s work was more important to her than her reputation.

When we are sincerely dedicated to following God will,
we may experience times when we are taken down rough roads with “bumps”.
Of course the temptation will ne to find an easier path.
The best road to travel, however, is always the one of God’s choosing.

Are you on the right path for doing God’s will?
Remember how Mary responded – she surrendered to God’s work in her life.
She set the example for us to follow.
We can see in the scriptures how she was abundantly blessed
as a result of putting God’s Will ahead of her own selfish will.
God wants to bless us all, but we have to show Him
that we are sincere in our dedication and obedience to Him.

How is you worship life?
Do you only worship the Lord when it is convenient
and doesn’t interfere with the things you want to do?
It doesn’t mean that the things we want to do are bad,
but they are our chosen substitutes for worshiping the Lord.
On the other hand, does worshiping the Lord take priority over
your selfish desires to do what you want to do when you want to do them?
Recent statistics reveal that only 17% of professing Christians attend
worship services on a regular basis (of course that means that 83% do not).
Which percentage group are you in?