Read: Luke 1:34-38
Are you feeling barren when it comes to seeing the blessings of God in your life?
You’re in good company. Childbearing is a consistent test of faith for women in the pages of scripture.
In the Old Testament, Sarah, the wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac, and Hannah, the mother of Samuel the prophet, were burdened by the stigma of barrenness at a time when children were seen as a visible blessing of God on someone’s life. Instead of a child reflecting their hope and their identity, they had to place their bodies and their hopes literally in God’s full possession before he would “open their wombs.”
That’s why the model of motherhood in the New Testament is the Virgin Mary, who first calls herself “a servant of the Lord,” and then tells the angel announcing her immaculate conception of Christ “let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
The role of these woman was to allow the “seed” of God’s mighty purpose to grow and mature in them. That posture has much to teach all of us, men and women alike, about how we are to receive promises from God.
One of the greatest acts of faith we can have when it comes to our ministry within the body of Christ and even our personal journey of faith is to view ourselves as holy vessels for God’s grace, jars of clay made the by the potter’s hand, carrying precious treasure.
We offer up our lives to protect and carry the gospel of Christ, not for the value of what we accomplish or the joy of what we see, but for the glory of generations to come.
