The Courage to Say Yes
The Courage to Say Yes: Embracing God's Unexpected Call
There's something powerful about a simple "yes." Throughout history, moments of courage have transformed the world—not through grand gestures, but through ordinary people willing to step into the unknown.
Consider Thomas Edison's friend, Edward Johnson, who in the late 1800s did something people thought was crazy: he replaced dangerous candles on Christmas trees with 80 hand-wired light bulbs.
People scoffed at the idea. Who would replace flickering candles with tiny glowing bulbs? Yet that one yes forever changed how we celebrate Christmas. Today, millions of trees shine with electric lights because one person was willing to step into uncertainty.
But some "yes" moments carry far greater weight than innovative decorations. Some carry the weight of eternity.
When God Interrupts Our Plans
The Christmas story centers on two young people whose lives were completely interrupted by God. Mary and Joseph weren't looking for adventure or seeking to make history. They were ordinary people living ordinary lives in a small town called Nazareth, planning an ordinary future together. Mary was likely just a teenager—perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old—engaged to be married, dreaming of the life ahead.
Then came the interruption.
Luke 1:26-38 records the moment everything changed. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary with a message that would alter the course of human history: "You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High."
Imagine the weight of those words. Try to picture what it would feel like in today's context—a teenage girl receiving news that she would give birth to the Son of God. The fear. The confusion. The certainty that no one would believe her story. The knowledge that her reputation, her relationships, and her entire future hung in the balance.
Mary's response wasn't immediate, unquestioning obedience. She asked a logical question: "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" Her honesty is refreshing. She didn't pretend to understand. She didn't mask her confusion with false confidence. She simply voiced what she didn't comprehend.
And God met her there.
The Permission to Question
There's something liberating in Mary's question. It reminds us that following God doesn't mean we can never ask "how" or "why." When God calls us to something that doesn't make sense—something that challenges our logic, disrupts our plans, or exceeds our capacity—it's okay to pause, reflect, and say, "God, I don't understand."
The angel's response to Mary is profound: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you... For nothing will be impossible with God" (Luke 1:35, 37).
Nothing. Will. Be. Impossible.
That promise stands today. Whether we're facing a barren situation in our lives, an impossible relationship, a financial crisis, or a calling that seems beyond our abilities, the same God who spoke to Mary speaks to us: nothing is impossible with Him.
Mary's ultimate response became the hinge upon which salvation swung: "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).
She said yes.
The Hidden Hero's Struggle
While Mary's story often takes center stage, Joseph's journey deserves equal attention. When he discovered Mary was pregnant—and he knew he wasn't the father—he faced a crisis of his own. The logical conclusion was betrayal. The reasonable response would have been to walk away, perhaps quietly to minimize her shame.
But God intervened through a dream, revealing that this child was from the Holy Spirit. Joseph faced a choice: believe the impossible or trust his natural understanding. He chose to believe. He chose to protect Mary, to care for her, to step into a future that looked risky and uncertain.
Joseph's yes was just as crucial as Mary's. His obedience meant embracing public shame, accepting questions he couldn't answer, and trusting God with a story that made no earthly sense.
What God Asks of Us
The Christmas story isn't just about what happened two thousand years ago. It's about what God continues to do through ordinary people willing to say yes today.
Saying yes to God doesn't always look dramatic. It often appears in small, daily acts of faith:
Forgiving someone who doesn't deserve it
Giving when finances are tight
Serving when we feel unqualified
Sharing our faith despite fear of rejection
Standing for truth when it costs us socially
These moments require courage—not the absence of fear, but the willingness to move forward even when fear is present.
Romans 12:1 frames this as worship: "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." This isn't forced obligation but a response to God's mercy and love. When we surrender our lives to Him, we're saying, "I trust You with my life, my choices, my future—even when I can't see the whole picture."
The Blank Contract
Imagine holding a blank piece of paper representing your life. No agenda written. No predetermined path. Just your signature at the bottom, saying to God: "This is my life. I'm not going to fill anything in. Whatever You want to write on this contract, I trust You."
For Mary and Joseph, God wrote "birth of the Messiah." For us, God's plan may look entirely different. He might call us to preach, teach, serve, give, forgive, or simply be faithful in the mundane moments of daily life.
The specifics vary, but the invitation remains the same: Will you trust Me enough to say yes?
The Cost and the Reward
Let's be honest—saying yes to God doesn't always make life easier. In fact, it often makes things harder in the moment. It can mean misunderstood relationships, disrupted plans, and stepping into situations where the outcome isn't clear.
But here's the beautiful truth: it's in those very places of fear and uncertainty that God's glory shines brightest. On the other side of obedience lies blessing. On the other side of surrender lies freedom. On the other side of yes lies the miracle God wants to do in us and through us.
Mary's yes proved a pathway for salvation. Her simple obedience, combined with Joseph's faithful support, brought Jesus into the world—the One who would walk this earth for thirty-three years without sin, die on a cross for our redemption, and rise again to offer eternal life.
We celebrate Christmas today because two young people had the courage to say yes to God's interruption.
Your Yes Matters
What is God asking you to say yes to? Perhaps it's time to surrender your heart fully to Christ. Maybe it's extending forgiveness you've been withholding. It could be serving in a new way, giving sacrificially, or simply trusting Him with an uncertain future.
Your yes matters. Your obedience unlocks something in the Kingdom of God. You may not see the whole picture, but you can trust the One who designed the heavens and the earth.
This Christmas season, as we remember Mary and Joseph's courage, may we find our own courage to say yes—even when it's scary, even when it doesn't make sense, even when others don't understand.
Because sometimes the greatest gift we can bring to God is simply the courage to say yes.
There's something powerful about a simple "yes." Throughout history, moments of courage have transformed the world—not through grand gestures, but through ordinary people willing to step into the unknown.
Consider Thomas Edison's friend, Edward Johnson, who in the late 1800s did something people thought was crazy: he replaced dangerous candles on Christmas trees with 80 hand-wired light bulbs.
People scoffed at the idea. Who would replace flickering candles with tiny glowing bulbs? Yet that one yes forever changed how we celebrate Christmas. Today, millions of trees shine with electric lights because one person was willing to step into uncertainty.
But some "yes" moments carry far greater weight than innovative decorations. Some carry the weight of eternity.
When God Interrupts Our Plans
The Christmas story centers on two young people whose lives were completely interrupted by God. Mary and Joseph weren't looking for adventure or seeking to make history. They were ordinary people living ordinary lives in a small town called Nazareth, planning an ordinary future together. Mary was likely just a teenager—perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old—engaged to be married, dreaming of the life ahead.
Then came the interruption.
Luke 1:26-38 records the moment everything changed. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary with a message that would alter the course of human history: "You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High."
Imagine the weight of those words. Try to picture what it would feel like in today's context—a teenage girl receiving news that she would give birth to the Son of God. The fear. The confusion. The certainty that no one would believe her story. The knowledge that her reputation, her relationships, and her entire future hung in the balance.
Mary's response wasn't immediate, unquestioning obedience. She asked a logical question: "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" Her honesty is refreshing. She didn't pretend to understand. She didn't mask her confusion with false confidence. She simply voiced what she didn't comprehend.
And God met her there.
The Permission to Question
There's something liberating in Mary's question. It reminds us that following God doesn't mean we can never ask "how" or "why." When God calls us to something that doesn't make sense—something that challenges our logic, disrupts our plans, or exceeds our capacity—it's okay to pause, reflect, and say, "God, I don't understand."
The angel's response to Mary is profound: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you... For nothing will be impossible with God" (Luke 1:35, 37).
Nothing. Will. Be. Impossible.
That promise stands today. Whether we're facing a barren situation in our lives, an impossible relationship, a financial crisis, or a calling that seems beyond our abilities, the same God who spoke to Mary speaks to us: nothing is impossible with Him.
Mary's ultimate response became the hinge upon which salvation swung: "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).
She said yes.
The Hidden Hero's Struggle
While Mary's story often takes center stage, Joseph's journey deserves equal attention. When he discovered Mary was pregnant—and he knew he wasn't the father—he faced a crisis of his own. The logical conclusion was betrayal. The reasonable response would have been to walk away, perhaps quietly to minimize her shame.
But God intervened through a dream, revealing that this child was from the Holy Spirit. Joseph faced a choice: believe the impossible or trust his natural understanding. He chose to believe. He chose to protect Mary, to care for her, to step into a future that looked risky and uncertain.
Joseph's yes was just as crucial as Mary's. His obedience meant embracing public shame, accepting questions he couldn't answer, and trusting God with a story that made no earthly sense.
What God Asks of Us
The Christmas story isn't just about what happened two thousand years ago. It's about what God continues to do through ordinary people willing to say yes today.
Saying yes to God doesn't always look dramatic. It often appears in small, daily acts of faith:
Forgiving someone who doesn't deserve it
Giving when finances are tight
Serving when we feel unqualified
Sharing our faith despite fear of rejection
Standing for truth when it costs us socially
These moments require courage—not the absence of fear, but the willingness to move forward even when fear is present.
Romans 12:1 frames this as worship: "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." This isn't forced obligation but a response to God's mercy and love. When we surrender our lives to Him, we're saying, "I trust You with my life, my choices, my future—even when I can't see the whole picture."
The Blank Contract
Imagine holding a blank piece of paper representing your life. No agenda written. No predetermined path. Just your signature at the bottom, saying to God: "This is my life. I'm not going to fill anything in. Whatever You want to write on this contract, I trust You."
For Mary and Joseph, God wrote "birth of the Messiah." For us, God's plan may look entirely different. He might call us to preach, teach, serve, give, forgive, or simply be faithful in the mundane moments of daily life.
The specifics vary, but the invitation remains the same: Will you trust Me enough to say yes?
The Cost and the Reward
Let's be honest—saying yes to God doesn't always make life easier. In fact, it often makes things harder in the moment. It can mean misunderstood relationships, disrupted plans, and stepping into situations where the outcome isn't clear.
But here's the beautiful truth: it's in those very places of fear and uncertainty that God's glory shines brightest. On the other side of obedience lies blessing. On the other side of surrender lies freedom. On the other side of yes lies the miracle God wants to do in us and through us.
Mary's yes proved a pathway for salvation. Her simple obedience, combined with Joseph's faithful support, brought Jesus into the world—the One who would walk this earth for thirty-three years without sin, die on a cross for our redemption, and rise again to offer eternal life.
We celebrate Christmas today because two young people had the courage to say yes to God's interruption.
Your Yes Matters
What is God asking you to say yes to? Perhaps it's time to surrender your heart fully to Christ. Maybe it's extending forgiveness you've been withholding. It could be serving in a new way, giving sacrificially, or simply trusting Him with an uncertain future.
Your yes matters. Your obedience unlocks something in the Kingdom of God. You may not see the whole picture, but you can trust the One who designed the heavens and the earth.
This Christmas season, as we remember Mary and Joseph's courage, may we find our own courage to say yes—even when it's scary, even when it doesn't make sense, even when others don't understand.
Because sometimes the greatest gift we can bring to God is simply the courage to say yes.
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