“How Shall This Be?” — The Question We All Ask
The room is quiet, but your mind is screaming. You’re staring at a mountain that refuses to move. It might be a medical diagnosis that stole the air from your lungs, a relationship fractured beyond recognition, or a financial pit so deep you can’t see the light. You have prayed, you have believed, and you have stood on every promise you know. And yet, the mountain remains. The silence from heaven feels deafening, and the facts of your situation are cold, hard, and brutal. In these moments, faith can feel less like a victory march and more like a desperate whisper in the dark.
This is a sacredly honest space. It’s the space a young girl from Nazareth once occupied. When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary with a promise that would rewrite human history—that she, a virgin, would bear the Son of God—her response was not a leap of blind faith. It was a question rooted in reality: “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” This is not the question of doubt; it is the question of logic. She was not questioning God's power, but she was trying to reconcile His supernatural promise with her natural reality. How many of us are standing in that very same place today? We see the promise in His Word, but we see the impossibility in our world. We look at our empty bank account and hear God’s promise to provide. We look at our broken heart and hear His promise to heal. And we ask, with all sincerity, 'Lord, how?'
Your 'how' is not an offense to God. It is an invitation. It is you acknowledging the line where your ability ends and His must begin. We spend so much of our lives trying to solve, manage, and control our circumstances. We build our lives on the foundation of what is reasonable, predictable, and possible. But the currency of the Kingdom is faith, and the stage for God's greatest work is often the platform of human impossibility. He is not afraid of your facts. He is not intimidated by your diagnosis. He is not worried about your balance sheet. Your honest question, 'How shall this be?' is the perfect prelude to His divine answer, an answer that operates completely outside the realm of human logic.
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?— Luke 1:34, KJV
The Evidence for the Impossible
Notice the angel’s response to Mary. He doesn't rebuke her for asking. He gives her two things: a process and a proof. The process was the work of the Holy Spirit: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee.” The answer to 'how' is always 'God.' He will provide the mechanism. He will make the way. It is a work of His Spirit, not your striving. But He knew Mary's human heart needed more than a theological concept. It needed a tangible anchor for her faith. So, he gave her proof.
The angel points her to a specific, verifiable miracle already in progress. “And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.” This wasn't just a random piece of family gossip; it was a sign. It was God saying, 'If you need evidence that I can do the impossible, look over there. The very thing everyone said could never happen, I have already done.' Elisabeth's miracle was the evidence for Mary's miracle. Her story was the scaffolding God used to build Mary's faith for the promise she was carrying. God still does this. He will often plant evidence of His power in your periphery before He manifests it in your own life. He will let you see Him move someone else’s mountain to prepare you for the day He moves yours.
Who is the 'Elisabeth' in your life right now? Whose testimony of healing, restoration, or provision can you anchor yourself to? God moves mountains, and sometimes the proof He gives you is the sight of a mountain range, once thought permanent, that has already been leveled in someone else’s life. This is why testimony is so powerful. It's not just a nice story; it is a weapon. It is proof that what God did for them, He can do for you. The angel’s message culminates in one of the most powerful statements in all of Scripture, the foundational truth upon which every miracle rests.
For with God nothing shall be impossible.— Luke 1:37, KJV
The Posture of Possibility
After hearing the process (the Holy Spirit) and seeing the proof (Elisabeth), Mary’s posture shifts entirely. Her question of 'How?' transforms into a declaration of 'Yes.' She moves from the logic of her circumstance to the surrender of her soul. Her response is the key that unlocks the door for the divine to enter the natural.
She doesn't say, 'Okay, I understand it all now.' She doesn't say, 'Let me think about it and get back to you.' She says, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” This is the posture of possibility. It is an active surrender. It is handing God the pen and allowing Him to write the story, even when you can’t see the next page. This 'yes' is the most powerful position you can take in the face of an impossible situation. It is the conscious decision to align your faith with God's Word, no matter how loudly your circumstances are screaming the opposite.
Saying 'be it unto me' is not passive resignation. It is an act of war against fear and doubt. It’s looking at the cancer diagnosis and saying, 'My body may be weak, but my God is the great physician; be it unto me according to His word of healing.' It's looking at the broken family and saying, 'The division seems final, but my God is a reconciler; be it unto me according to His word of restoration.' Your 'yes' to God does not instantly erase the problem, but it does reposition you under the promise. It takes you from being a victim of your circumstances to being a vessel for His glory. Mary's surrender made her womb the dwelling place of God. Your surrender, right here in the middle of your mess, makes your life the stage for His miracle.
And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.— Luke 1:38, KJV
Perhaps you came here today feeling like Mary before the angel—staring at a promise that feels utterly disconnected from your reality. You have asked 'How?' and the silence has been heavy. Hear the Spirit of God whisper to you now: He is the 'how.' Look around you for the evidence of His faithfulness, the 'Elisabeth' stories that prove He is still at work. Then, take a deep breath, and from that place of pain and hope, offer Him your 'yes.' It may be the bravest thing you ever do. For the God who hung the stars and parted the seas is the same God who is working in your life right now. And with Him, nothing—not your diagnosis, not your debt, not your despair—nothing shall be impossible.