Strength in Surrender
Grand Canyon University is committed to helping our community grow in faith and live with courage.
Written By
Riley Parsons
Professional Writing Student
Grand Canyon University is committed to helping our community grow in faith and live with courage.
Speak with a University Counselor today.
Approved and verified accurate by the Local Outreach Ministry Coordinator of Spiritual Life on Jan. 2, 2026.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Grand Canyon University. Any sources cited were accurate as of the publish date.
Mary’s story demonstrates how grace empowers obedience and consistently points to Christ, even when the path seems impossible.
The time between Christmas and New Year’s is often a period when the human heart feels most vulnerable. We may think about the burdens that weighed us down or the dreams we worked hard to pursue but couldn’t reach — many of the difficult experiences from the past year.
I find myself thinking of Mary often during this time, a young (and likely terrified) mother relying solely on God’s promise to find strength. That kind of trust requires more than most of us could ever give. She stands as a pillar in the human story of salvation, not because she is worthy of worship or godly praise, but because she believed God’s plan for her when everything around her said it was impossible.
Imagine her life in the small town of Nazareth: she was already committed in marriage to Joseph; her future was clear and defined by her surroundings. Then, the angel Gabriel arrived with a promise that crumbled every element of her structured world. She was immediately confronted with the weight of a destiny that seemed too heavy for her to bear.
And yet, she found comfort and strength from trusting in the Lord.
The final and most essential lesson offered by Mary is her complete Christ-centeredness. Her instruction at the wedding in Cana serves as her enduring command to all subsequent generations of believers: “Do whatever He tells you,” (John 2:5, NIV).
Mary’s role is decisive; she does not point to herself. Her instruction is simple and permanent. And after the resurrection, her location is prayer with the disciples.
"Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her!"
"They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus."
"This is my comfort in my suffering: Your promise preserves my life. "
For all believers, the example of Virgin Mary reveals a relentless, quiet endurance. The path laid out by divine favor was lined with the sharp edges of human pain. When the infant Jesus was presented at the temple, the prophecy that “…a sword will pierce your own soul too,” (Luke 2:35, NIV) forever marked her motherhood with the shadow of sacrifice.
This prophetic sorrow followed her through every stage of Jesus’ life. She felt the fear when she and Joseph had to flee to Egypt as refugees to protect Him (Matthew 2:16, NIV). She felt confusion when His temple ministry baffled and strained her understanding. And ultimately, she endured the unimaginable trauma of standing at the foot of the cross, watching her own child give up His life for the world.
What kind of strength — what reservoir of divine peace — must a mother possess to watch her innocent Son die a brutal, public death?
The enduring power of her character is not that she was spared this pain, but that she stood firm, embodying the unrelenting faith necessary to face the world’s darkest injustice, even for her own sinful nature.
Mary is one of the clearest examples of the understanding that God chooses humble places for His greatest work. Her favor was never about her being innately superior about God’s boundless grace pouring into her lowliness because of her faith.
She allowed the power of God to overshadow her, trusting in His divine promise above the social consequences or the biological impossibility.
Gabriel’s announcement did not arrive without surprise, however. It dropped into a small home with ordinary plans and a reputation to protect. Mary’s initial words — “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34, NIV) — are not signs of resistance but demonstrate straightforward honesty. She names the impossibility before her. And then, after Gabriel’s response, she ends with a sentence that defines obedience for the rest of us: “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled,” (Luke 1:38, NIV).
Her faith was tested later on as well, not just by the announcement of the pregnancy but by the hardships that followed. Though her home was in Nazareth, the decree of Caesar Augustus forced her and Joseph to make the difficult journey to Bethlehem for the census (Luke 2:1–5). This was a grueling trip that led not to the comfort of an inn, but to a stable with a manger. Again, a prime example that her humility was often accompanied by hardship.
Mary’s song of praise, the Magnificat, is a poem of proclaiming that God upends the power structures of the world — lifting the humble, feeding the hungry and scattering the proud and powerful. This is the voice of a truly favored young woman, one who understands that her elevation is a means for God’s justice. Her cousin, Elizabeth, confirmed this truth, not by praising Mary’s works, but by praising her belief.
She directs all attention, worship and obedience away from herself and toward her Son. She had the greatest privilege given to any human — to bring Christ into the world — yet her final, recorded act is simply being present with the early church disciples, waiting and praying for the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14).
Throughout it all, Mary remained a vessel of grace, always pointing to the source of her favor: God.
Her life was not a pursuit of personal merit, but a continuous, humble acceptance of God’s gift. She reminds us that the greatest act of devotion is to simply believe in the Christ she bore, trust His finished work and let the burdens of our life be lifted by the grace that first found her in the small town of Nazareth.
As the calendar turns, hold Mary in view — not as equal to her Son, but as a witness whose life clarifies what real faith looks like. May her example inspire us to embrace our own vulnerabilities with the courage of surrender, trusting the God who works great things through humble souls.
Amen.
