WELCOME to WEEK 5 of MATRIARCHS!
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MARY
Below is the video lesson guide. Please CLICK THIS LINK TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE MATRIARCHS BIBLE STUDY LESSON link which takes you to the next level and helps you gain a more extensive and life-changing understanding of God’s Word. You can also view the YouTube video link to study and hear details of Mary’s story. It is a story that many women can relate to.)
Have you ever found yourself in a Plan B situation?
You thought you had everything perfectly planned. Then, suddenly, things were topsy turvy, not what you planned. That’s what happened to Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was supposed to marry Joseph and live happily ever after. Right? Well, it didn’t turn out exactly like what Mary would have imagined. And, neither do our lives. But, and this is a big “but,” Plan B’s don’t have to stand for “bad.”
They can stand for “blessings.” Romans 8:28 assures us of that. “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” We may scratch our heads at times and question how our Plan B could ever turn out for good; but in Mary’s life we see God work miraculously. That’s who He is – THEE miracle worker. What does He ask of us? Our cooperation; to be what I coined as “sacredly flexible” when writing “The Plan A MOM in a Plan B World: How to Raise Faithful Kids in a Flawed World.” What can we learn from Mary about being “sacred flexibility” in the midst of Plan B’s?
Your SPIRITUAL NAVIGATIONAL APP
God created and “wired” us with a spirit so that He who is Spirit can commune with us and we with Him. We’re all familiar with navigational apps. The app knows where we are and tells us how to get from point A to point B. If we get off course, the app lets us know and updates our course to get us back on track. Today, we see how Mary “got it” that her Heavenly Father was the best source to navigate her through life.
Sacredly Flexible or Stubborning Inflexible?
Mary was sacredly flexible in God’s hands. In other words, she was sensitive to and led by her Heavenly Father. Instead of reacting to life with only her natural eyes, ears, mind, and emotions, she was open to God’s leading and timing.
The opposite of sacred flexibility is stubbornly inflexibility. A stubbornly inflexible person, who lives by what the Bible calls “the flesh,” often experiences outbursts of anger, disputes, jealousy, getting drunk; even immorality. Galatians 5:19-21. They’re out of step with God which leads to their being out of step with their children and others.
God gives us a choice. We can look to our Heavenly Father during our day and respond to His promptings and Word. Or we can rush through our day, ignoring our Heavenly Father.
Following are areas where we see Mary practice sacred flexibility. As we observe her sacred flexibility to God’s will, let’s think how He might be calling us to be more sacredly flexible.
Sacred Flexibility to God’s Will
As mentioned, Mary is sacredly flexibility to God’s will. She agrees to become pregnant by the most unconventional means. Could she have refused, saying, “I’m engaged to Joseph and can’t get pregnant now”? Yes. But instead, Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
Her opportunity to practice sacred flexibility didn’t stop with that act of submission. Near her due date, when she probably would have preferred to be home, she and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem on a government-mandated trip. Flexible or inflexible? She was sacredly flexible and it placed her in the city where the prophesied Messiah was to be born.
In Bethlehem, we find Mary and Joseph searching for a hotel. Keep flexing, Mary. How about a stall?
After the journey to Bethlehem, searching for a place to stay, and giving birth to Jesus, Mary must have been beyond exhaustion. How did she respond when Joseph said, “Mary, shepherds are here and want to see Jesus”?
Instead of refusing them, the shepherds were allowed to see Jesus, the Chief Shepherd. (1 Peter 5:4) Perhaps no woman better prophesied over herself than when she said to the angel, Gabriel, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord.”
Are we yet able to grasp how moment-by-moment, God used this mother because she was sacredly flexible? She wasn’t spineless or weak. It took the strongest of women to bear the criticism of an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, withstand the journey to Bethlehem, deliver her baby in a stable, raise the Son of God and then watch Him die on the cross.
Being sacredly flexible is not synonymous with weakness. Rather, being sacredly flexible is experiencing God’s leading when we yield our body, mind, and souls as instruments to Him. You and I may think of daily activities as ho-hum. But the daily becomes divine when it’s marked with God’s presence and Spirit. (tweet this)
In order for our days to be touched with the glory of God, we must be in communion with Him and sensitive to the Spirit’s leading. This begins with opening our eyes to His presence in the mornings. It continues as we offer our bodies to His service and respond to His promptings throughout the day. We stay sacredly flexible in God’s hands when we face a difficulty with a child and turn to Him in prayer, listening for His guidance on how to handle our situation.
Sacred Flexibility in Decisions
We continue to see why God chose Mary to bear His Son, and can learn from her sacred flexibility.
As a betrothed couple, Joseph and Mary had perhaps talked about what they would one day name their children. However, Luke 2:21 tells us God chose it. “His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.” Keep flexing, Mary. You’re part of something higher than you can see right now. Isaiah 55:8
Sacredly Flexibility in Change of Plans
It’s the middle of the night. You’re sound asleep. Suddenly your husband wakes you, “Get up. Get Jesus. We have to leave now!” Mary could have been inflexible when Joseph woke her following the angel’s warning of Herod’s plot. But instead, Mary left in the middle of the night for Egypt as Herod gave the order to kill all male boys, two years old and under, in the vicinity of Bethlehem. (Matthew 2:13)
Mary probably never expected to live in Egypt. It was a change of plans. No doubt she missed her family. However, instead of doing what she wanted, she followed God’s voice as He navigated their family to safety.
Sacredly Flexibility in Where She Lived
When Herod died, an angel again appeared in a dream to Joseph while they were in Egypt. The angel said, “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead” (Matthew 2:19–20).
“Mary, pack your bags. It’s safe to go back to Israel now.”
Sacred flexibility. We could go on and on showing how God used Mary’s sacred flexibility. Praise God, her heart wasn’t hardened to spiritual things. She wasn’t so set in her ways that she couldn’t sense His direction and respond. She wasn’t adamant that she live where she wanted to live. She didn’t waste moments or miss opportunities God divinely orchestrated.
Sacred Flexibility Has a Positive Impact On Our Families
If Mary had not been flexible, perhaps she would never have encountered the shepherds who validated the angel’s announcement, or the wise men who worshipped Jesus and provided the young couple with financial gifts that may well have financed their flight to Egypt. Mary’s flexibility was key in sparing Jesus’ life from Herod’s sword.
I wonder how many divine assignments we miss each week. I wonder, if we were more flexible, if our children would experience more of God’s blessings.
Mary experienced spectacular miracles—the kind for which you rejoice and praise God. True, it’s hard to be flexible when everything in you wants to stick to the status quo. However, it’s the mothers who are sacredly flexible in God’s hands who walk in God’s will.
3 KEYS to SACRED FLEXIBILITY
In order for God to guide us, we must be in communion with Him and sensitive to the Spirit’s leading. How does this occur?
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It begins when we open our hearts and minds to God’s presence in the mornings. We may pray, “Fill me with Your Spirit,” in accordance with Ephesians 5:18 which commands us, “Be filled with the Spirit.” This can be likened to when we put our desired destination in our navigational app. Our prayer is stating our intention; that our desired destination for the day is to be a Spirit-filled sacredly flexible mom, following God.”
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We read His Word before we read our emails or begin texting. We offer our minds to Him so He can speak to us through the Bible. His Word is truth and reading it each morning keeps us on the road of truth. For instance, if we don’t feel like forgiving someone, His Word keeps us on course; just as our navigational app keeps us on course. His voice speaks to us through Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” If we’ve been off course, steering in the direction of being unforgiving, we turn around and go in the right direction. This sacred flexibility will steer us to a better marriage. It will model God’s grace to our children.
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Our sacred flexibility continues during the day as we respond to God’s voice commands; His navigational voice, “Discipline in love, not anger,” (Ephesians 4:26) steers us in the right direction. It keeps us from a crash of wills. We stay sacredly flexible in God’s hands when we face a difficulty with a child and turn to Him in prayer, listening for His guidance on how to handle our situation. James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
If we’re unmarried, we must make up our minds to only date and marry someone who is in tune to God; whose desired destination is to serve and live for Him. Why? Because when two people marry, they become one. Your life and your children’s lives are at stake. If God tells you not to marry someone, even though you are lonely and afraid of not finding another person, do not marry the wrong person. Many women have told me that they knew they shouldn’t marry someone, but they did anyway.
The words “scared” and “sacred” are not to be confused. If you’re a Christian, you may be scared about something, but the answer is to go to God and follow His divine voice. God is navigating you to abundant life. (John 10:10) His destination for you is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
God doesn’t promise that we won’t have anxious moments when plans change. However, He has given believers the gift of His presence, the Holy Spirit, to guide us. (John 14:16)
Model sacred flexibility to your children so they will grow up to be sacredly flexible in God’s hands.
Mom Checkup
God doesn’t ask us to be other people’s puppets. He asks us to serve Him. (John 15:14) We can choose to practice sacred flexibility and experience His divine presence leading us in the midst of our days. (Romans 8:14, Galatians 5:25) Or we can stubbornly cross our arms and refuse. Which kind of mother have you been? Which kind of mother do you want to be?
Father, thank You for Mary’s example of being sacredly flexible in Your hands. Help me practice sacred flexibility so my children see Your glory and experience Your grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Don’t forget to download your FREE PDF IN-DEPTH STUDY (IN-DEPTH STUDY (LEADERS’ GUIDE) PDF and dive deeper and discover more about this Matriarch who was the mother of nations and a mother in whom we can see so much of ourselves.
If this lesson has spoken to your heart… if God has used it, please be sure to leave a comment and please share on your social media outlets using the hashtag #MATRIARCHS
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