Aren’t you thankful for God’s Word and the way it draws us into conversation with him? Conversing with
the Lord of the universe usually goes beyond the typical surface comments people would make to one
another. Why would you ask the Creator, “What do you think about this weather we’re having?” After all, he orchestrated the forecast and could change it if he wanted something different!
Conversation with the Word Incarnate often draws me to inquire about the deeper meaning of what Abba
is saying to me personally or to others whose lives intersect with mine. Early one morning during this
advent season, I was drawn to search for a deeper meaning behind the angel’s explanation to Mary in
Luke 1:35:
“. . . The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High
will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born
will be called the Son of God.”
What was it like for Mary to be “overshadowed” by the power of the Most High God?
What would it mean for us to have a similar experience?
Having an encounter with an angel was startling enough, but to have Gabriel explain the phenomenon of
how Mary, as a virgin, would conceive a child had to have been overwhelmingly more than a young
handmaiden could comprehend or process. She must have wondered how the sacred, Holy Wind, the
breath of God, would come upon her.
Would it be a gentle, perhaps even subtle and almost imperceptible, movement of air? Would she
experience an animated moment in her emotional processes? Perhaps a relatively rational thought would
cause her to perceive a change occurring in her mind and body. Undoubtedly, she was old enough to be
acquainted with her own body’s rhythm and function. Even more dramatic and yet elusive, she may have
sensed God’s Spirit actively exerting influence upon hers. Somehow, I believe the original meaning of “to
come upon” has a much stronger connotation than any of these possibilities.
Surely when the Holy Breath of heaven blows upon any of us, we are inevitably affected like someone
who has experienced the impact of a strong, but gentle blast of wind. Of course, Holy Spirit would have
been a perfect Gentleman with this young virgin, who had been told not to be afraid or fearful. This
intensified coming would not only change the natural processes of Mary’s body, it would powerfully affect
all of humanity for all of time.
The dunamis—mighty power and marvelous working of God—is still exerting miraculous moral, spiritual,
and physical change that is evident to any who recognize and embrace His Holy Wind.
This daughter of low estate experienced the superlative heights of transcendent God come down
and envelop her like a cloud enshrouds a mountaintop until it is no longer visible. Not some dark
shadow but a haze of such brilliance it would have obscured everything around Mary. Any
distractions which might have hindered her transformation from simple and common to life-filled and sacred were hidden from view. She was now impregnated with the Son of God!
Father, would You do it again in our lives? Please send your messenger of hope to assuage our fears
and cause us to believe in the miraculous once again. Cause Your sacred and gentle, yet powerful Wind
to blow. Breathe new anticipation in our hearts and minds. Change the natural (fallen) processes of our
thinking and living into powerful, transformative action.
Let the brilliance of Your glory be seen as we are enveloped by the cloud that reflects the light of heaven and not the darkness of earthly creatures. Move us into the arena of life-giving ministry
and influence in our world!