Mary’s Song: Living in the Providence of God | By Margaret Petty
Week 2, Day 9 | December 7
With purpose, God chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus (Hebrew for savior).
Mary’s obedience in spiritual discipline prepared her for some of the most troubling news a young Jewish woman could encounter. But unlike Moses, whose many excuses to God’s call revealed his reliance on his own pitiful abilities, Mary’s response conveyed unquestioning trust and dependence on God alone: “I am the Lord’s servant; may it be to me as you have said.” Spontaneously, she broke into song. Mary knew her Bible. Every line of her song (Luke 1:46-55) can be traced to an Old Testament source — God’s covenant promise to her ancestors in the Torah, Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel, the Psalms, the prophets, even Job.4
Three years into our marriage, living in a foreign country, still learning the language, I nearly died from a surgical mistake that, humanly speaking, could have been avoided. The two months in the hospital and the negative sequels left me weak, unsteady, and fretful. For our school’s Christmas program the following next year, I set Mary’s Magnificat to music for a student, a solo soprano. In contemplating the text it hit me, that like Mary, I too could trust God for every aspect of the life He has given me, including my physical condition. My prayer became, “I am the Lord’s servant; may it be to me as you have said.”
With unflinching faith and joy, Mary accepted God’s sovereign will for her life. As the FBC choir recently sang, “What God ordains is always good.”
PRAYER: Holy Lord, by your grace and power,
May my soul magnify you in all circumstances.
May my spirit rejoice in you, my Savior, always.
May Thy will be done in my life, as it is in heaven. Amen.
Margaret Petty serves in music and worship. She and her husband Tom joined FBC when they relocated to Greensboro after serving in missions in France for 35 years.