Luke 1:26-33
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”
Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
The story of the first Christmas is one we’ve come to idealize but, after taking a closer look, it’s a story we see is likely full of fear and anxiety. A pregnant teenager, rejection from people who don’t believe her, and the pressure of trying to raise the Son of God. Fear and anxiety are similar; the difference is fear sees a threat and reacts but anxiety imagines a threat and gets stuck. Just like Mary, much of our anxiety is triggered by three things: isolation (Who will believe me and stand by?), insignificance (Who am I to carry out this job or task?), and insecurity (How will this all work? Will God provide?).
Which of these three areas—isolation, insignificance, and insecurity—triggers anxiety in you? Which of these threats are real and which are simply imagined? Just like Mary, God has a plan and purpose for your life that is bigger than your anxiety. How can advent, the arrival and person of Jesus, provide you a way back from your anxiety to a sense of peace?