The Annunciation: Mary’s Unexpected Calling

The Annunciation by Bette Dickinson

Do you ever wish that God would just tell you what to do with your life? That he would just announce your calling and eliminate all the confusion and struggle that usually accompanies that process of discernment?

I know I have.

But there's a mercy that comes with that process too. It allows us to adjust to that call slowly, to learn the skills and discipline required bit by bit, to gradually come to terms with the difference between what we thought our lives would look like and the reality in store for us and to begin to understand how that reality will ultimately surpass all our hopes and dreams even as it crushes many of them.

Mary did not have this mercy. In what is known as the Annunciation, her call is unmistakable, unambiguous, and absolutely unexpected.

And she is frightened. But she submits to this call without reservation, willing to sacrifice her vision for her life, her reputation, and her comfort to embark on a journey she does not understand and could certainly never have predicted.

This is courage beyond my comprehension.

Perhaps God only speaks so clearly when it’s absolutely necessary—there’s probably no inner whisper that would give you the notion that your life’s work would be to conceive, bear, and raise God incarnate.

Or perhaps God had been whispering to Mary all along—not, I imagine, anything about being overcome by the spirit of God and impregnated, but nonetheless preparing her heart and soul for such a calling. I also imagine that God gave her an immediate and powerful dose of grace that fortified her and comforted her, steadying her mind and body as she recovered from the shock and began to process what was happening.

We are, I find again and again, capable of much more than we think. Not necessarily of more hustle or productivity or success but rather of withstanding and even embracing change, hardship, and risk. When God calls us to something, He knows we can accomplish it, both because He has prepared us for it (whether or not we were aware of it) and because He gives us the strength we lack.

A paraphrase of Isaiah 58:11 says, “Where God guides, he provides.” That provision doesn’t always look the way we want it to, but it is there; God doesn’t always give us what we want, but He gives us what we need. And He certainly gives us what we need to accomplish the work to which He calls us.

But that doesn’t mean it is easy. Far from it. Living into the calling that God places on your life is often the hardest thing you’ll ever do. It is also, if you can see it through, the most rewarding thing you’ll ever do. The joy, peace, and deep fulfillment that comes from doing what you were uniquely created for—in finding your place in the Great Dance of Creation—is unmatched in this life.

This must be what Mary felt as Christ grew within her: joy and terror and excitement and doubt all mixed up together. It cannot have been easy. The cost was high, as it always is when we’re called. But the reward was greater.

Let us seek to become a little more like Mary, willing to accept our calling no matter the cost.

About the artist:

Bette Dickinson is a prophetic artist, writer, and speaker who invites audiences to connect with God through visual parables of the spiritual journey. Through creative communication, she helps her audience awaken to the beauty of God and see more clearly the eternal realm in the heart and in the world. Bette earned her Masters of Divinity with an emphasis in Pastoral Studies, is ordained in the Reformed Church in America, and serves with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Spiritual Formation. She can be found at www.bettedickinson.com and on Instagram @bette_dickinson.