God Hears Christmas FearsSample

From Luke 1:27, we learn that Mary was more than just a girl. She was a young woman who believed that a man and a woman should not have a physical relationship until marriage—one man, one woman, for life, as specified by God. Today, those standards seem to have fallen by the wayside, but that is still God’s plan and design. Mary was a virgin. She was moral and believed this. 

Scripture also tells us that she was "espoused". What does that mean? We have a word that can help us relate to that idea: "engaged". There is a time and place where a man presents a proposal of marriage to the one he is interested in, and he is praying and hoping desperately that she says “yes”. Then, if she does say yes, the engagement is signified by an engagement ring. Following that is a period of time leading up to the wedding where the man and woman commit to remain pure and faithful to each other. 

Now in that culture, it was more than just a commitment. It was so strong that once you were espoused, it was something that you could only get out of by divorce. So, you can see that this espousal was like an engagement ramped up. This was a time in which you were to show purity. At the end of that espousal period, there was a wedding, and the weddings were week-long events, very meaningful and powerful. That is the place that Mary was in. She was probably young because back then, they would marry at an early age. We do not know how young. Some have said as young as fourteen, but she could have been as old as sixteen or seventeen. 

Mary had a lot to be stressed and fearful about. Do you feel that way this year? Know that God hears your Christmas fears and wants to give you peace.