“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered.

Christmas always brings the feels, and I can’t lie to you: France does Christmas well. The Christmas markets here have magic to them, and watching our kids light up as the colored lights reflect in their eyes is something that warms their parents’ hearts. I love gathering with the church for worship as the stories from some of the Christmas songs we sing become deeper in light of the cross: joy to the World, the Lord is come, let earth receive her king. Let every heart prepare Him room; let heaven and nature sing. Remembering what the king of kings came to do makes a song like Joy to the World hit a little deeper in my heart.

Remembering is a big part of Christmas, and the Lord had something special for me to remember this year. Here in the last newsletter of the year, I’d like to share that with you. I’ve been thinking a lot about Mary, the mother of Jesus, these last few weeks. I’ve wondered what each year was like for her as Jesus’ birthday rolled around. Historically, Jesus was not born on December 25th, and there wasn’t a decorated tree in the manger (at least I’m pretty sure), but I know Mary remembered the day she gave birth to a miracle baby.

I’m positive that whenever Mary walked near a barn or a horse, the smell brought her back to a cold night when she and Joseph witnessed the impossible. It seems reasonable to believe that every other time Mary had to ride a donkey, a flashback of her evening ride to Bethlehem shot through her mind. And indeed, once in a while, while lying down to sleep, she remembered the angelic visit and the words spoken between them. As I’ve taken some extra time to remember this story, her last words to the angel Gabriel have dropped anchor in my heart. 

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

Gabriel was a promise bearer but not the promise keeper. Gabriel, coming in the name of the living God, delivered the promise that Mary would give birth to the Lord Jesus, the World’s Savior. But honestly, Gabriel only briefly expounds on how it would all go down. In fact, after reading about how it all goes down for Mary and Joseph, you can say Gabriel didn’t say anything about how everything would transpire on ground level. He delivered a promise but forgot to explain the process.

And oh, how you and I live in the process. The process is where it all takes place, it’s where everything goes down, and it’s often where I forget the promise. When Mary says, May your word to me be fulfilled, she has no idea what’s ahead of her. Mary doesn’t have the slightest clue about what it would feel like to grow a baby, to deal with the people who would never believe her story and always believe she slept with Joseph before marriage or, worse, someone else. Mary didn’t know about her long journey to Bethlehem and becoming houseguests with farm animals on the most challenging day of her young life. All she had was a promise.

At some point, I wonder if Joseph and Mary, at least in their minds, began to doubt what the angel had said to both of them. Perhaps it was when the sun descended on their journey toward Bethlehem, and Mary first felt the cold on her skin. Or maybe it was when they couldn’t find a clean place to deliver this child, or perhaps it was when three random shepherds showed up in their delivery room. I can’t imagine what the process was like for them, but I do know they hadn’t forgotten the promise. I am the Lord’s servant…May your word to me be fulfilled. These words were Mary’s response to the promise, but her life reflects her faith in the process. 

The Lord has made promises to us in the scripture, and He makes promises to us through His Holy Spirit. He promises to forgive those who call on His name, speak to us, and be near to those who are brokenhearted. But, this Christmas, I cling to the promise that Jesus has said He will never leave or forsake us. It’s this promise that gets me through the process. His presence reminds me of His promise when the process feels like too much.

If you read the scriptures, it seems God wants to do supernatural works through natural people like you and me, people like Mary. Do you know what was so special about Mary? Very little. But after her response of faith to Gabriel, God used her simple obedience to bring about the Savior of the World. I don’t feel exceptional, and often, I question whether God made a mistake by choosing our family to come to France. I’ve asked about the journey and the struggles we’ve been through since arriving. There have been moments that made me resent God and turn my focus and heart away from Him. But even then, I have felt His presence and heard His voice reminding me of the promises He’s made to me.

Green pastures. Peace. Relationship. These promises have anchored me in the process, and as the waves have come and gone, He is the only one who holds me together. When God calls us and shares a promise, He doesn’t always reveal the process to us. And like Habakkuk, who demanded an explanation, is given a revelation of who God is, and through that revelation, is able to see God’s presence in the process.

My prayer this Christmas is this: I am the Lord’s servant; may your word to me be fulfilled. I’m grateful for the example Mary sets for us by her words and actions. Because of her obedience to the promise and faithfulness in the process, she gave birth to the greatest miracle the World has ever seen. If Christmas is about remembering, I pray that it helps us not forget that God’s promises can often lead us to some complex processes, but His presence remains. 

France seems impossible. When my human mind tries to comprehend how a secular nation could come to see Jesus, it doesn’t add up. But, we’ve been given a promise: In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days,and they will prophesy. (Acts 2:17-18) For man, it’s impossible, but with God, all things are possible.

I’m reminded there may not be room in the inn for me, there may be kings and powers who look to exterminate what God said I would see birthed, and the people who join with me may not be people I had any clue existed; but if God has promised it, then no matter what the process may be, He will do as He says. What else can we say except, I am the Lord’s servant; may your word to me be fulfilled. 

Our family is honored to be with you during this process that God has us on here in France. It is not something we forget, and in fact, we think about it every day. Thank you for being one of the ways God encourages and equips us in our process as we travel toward the promise of revival. Our prayer for you this Christmas is that you, too, would anchor yourselves to His promise over your life as He leads you through your own process. May God bless you and keep you.

Merry Christmas.

Jordan