There’s a certain scripture in the Christmas story that has always intrigued me. You know the story… an angel visits a young girl named Mary and announces to her that she will become pregnant with God’s Son (Luke 1:26-33). Her fiancé Joseph learns of her pregnancy and secretly plans to break the engagement when an angel appears to him in a dream and tells him of God’s plan, so he takes Mary to be his wife after all.
Fast forward to when Jesus is born in Bethlehem. Nearby in a field, a host of angels show up in the night sky and announces to a group of shepherds the birth of Christ the Lord and tells them how to find Him. They hurry to the stable to see for themselves and there they find Mary, Joseph, and the baby just as the angels had said. Upon seeing them, they tell the story of the announcement that brought them there. “And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:18-19).
This is the verse that has intrigued me. To ponder means to weigh a matter or to think about something carefully, especially before making a decision or reaching a conclusion. Interestingly, the original Greek language means to cooperate (therefore the opposite is to hinder).
When you think about God’s plan and how He orchestrated everything, and how the shepherds announced what had been revealed to them, you see a pattern: GOD INSPIRED IT. MAN SPOKE IT.
And then, Mary pondered it.
The Bible says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). In other words, God inspires it, someone speaks it out for others to hear, and then our responsibility is to cooperate with it (like Mary did).
The Bible doesn’t say, “But Mary treasured up all these things, HOPING these things were true.” No, to hope these things were true would be to hinder the plan of God. Mary pondered these things in her heart — in other words, she had faith that these things were true and decided inwardly she would cooperate with what God said. In fact, when the angel appeared to Mary and she understood what was going to happen, she replied: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word…” (Luke 1:38). And a short time later, when Mary is visiting her relative Elizabeth (the mother of John the Baptist), she said to her, “Blessed is she who believed there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” (Luke 1:45).
This is more significant than you might realize.
Elizabeth’s husband Zechariah was a priest who also had an angel visit him to announce that he and his wife would have a child in their old age. He asked, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years” (Luke 1:18). Apparently the angel knew Zechariah doubted this word from God, so he said, “…because you did not believe my words…” (Luke 1:20) you will be mute until your son John is born.
But Mary asked a similar question. “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34). To ask “how” is okay. To doubt is not. In other words, because Mary’s heart was set to cooperate, her question of how was accepted. Zechariah’s was not. Mary didn’t just hope these things were true. She believed these things were true before any evidence was given.
I want to encourage you today there is a difference between a SPIRIT OF HOPE and a SPIRIT OF FAITH. Hope is good. We must have hope. Hope is the beginning of faith. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hope is good, but don’t stop there… A spirit of hope stops short of receiving— it stays in a perpetual state of longing. A spirit of faith, on the other hand, takes hope and cooperates with it in every way possible, for as long as necessary, until the fruition of that hope is manifested.
So this is our pattern: GOD INSPIRES His Word. MAN SPEAKS IT out— testifying, stating it as Truth. WE MUST PONDER IT— cooperate with it, treasure it in our heart, believe God’s Word is true despite what we see, feel, or think we know about a situation.
Mary could have doubted the word spoken to her, but instead she said, “Let it be to me according to all that has been said.”
What if we read our Bible that way?
“Let it be to me according to God’s promises!”
This is what Abraham did too — and he is now called the Father of FAITH (not Hope). “Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed so that he became the father of many nations… (Romans 4:18). In other words, contrary to natural hope, in spiritual hope he believed. “Against all odds, when it looked hopeless, Abraham believed the promise and expected God to fulfill it. He took God at His Word, and as a result he became the father of many nations…” (Passion).
I have no doubt Abraham pondered the promises of God in his heart. Every time he had an opportunity to doubt, he chose instead to cooperate. “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:20-21, ESV).
Mary didn’t know how. Abraham didn’t know how. They both simply believed God was ABLE.
Remember, HOPE IS GOOD. But Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick…” The Passion Translation says, “When hope’s dream seems to drag on and on, the delay can be depressing. But when at last your dream comes true, life’s sweetness will satisfy your soul.”
You must start with hope. But don’t stay there. Choose this day to BELIEVE all that God has promised you in His Word. “Oh, how I love all you’ve revealed; I reverently ponder it all the day long…” (Psalm 119:97, Message).
Have a Merry Christmas!
