“But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be.” Luke 1:29. NASB
According to Dictionary.com, to “ponder” is to “weigh carefully in the mind; consider thoughtfully.”
In Luke 1:5-38, Scripture tells two diverse stories of how Believers might respond to what God says. In Luke 1:11-20, Gabriel, an angelic messenger from God, tells Zacharias that his wife will conceive and bear a son, John the Baptist. However, Zacharias responded in disbelief, saying he and his wife were too old to have children. As a result of his disbelief, Gabriel informed Zacharias he would be unable to speak, until the birth of the baby.
Conversely, Luke 1: 26-29 tells of Mary’s response when Gabriel came to her with news from God and greeted her saying, “Hail favored one! The Lord is with you.” The passage says Mary pondered what Gabriel’s greeting meant. Contrary to Zacharias, Mary did not give her opinion about what Gabriel said. Instead, she thought about his words.
In 2Timothy 3:16, 17 the Bible states that God inspired Scripture, which gave it authority to train Believers in godly living. When faced with marital problems, issues with their children, jobs, finances, or any situation that living in a fallen world brings, how should Believers react? Do they please themselves and respond impulsively or with revenge, or do they ponder the promises of God that Scripture teaches?
God’s Word says Believer’s should seek and knock for answers, Matthew 7: 7, 8 which is to ponder and understand the truths of Scripture. Through pondering, Believers mature spiritually.
Zacharias and Mary did not have the entire Bible to study. Therefore, in its place, God sometimes sent angels to relay messages to His children. Today, though, God can use the Bible as His messenger, although He can still use angels, if He desires. In their daily Bible-study, when Believer’s receive a message from God it’s called a conviction. They are convicted to do this, or not to do that, or convicted in some other way. How should they respond?
Pondering may be an answer. Pondering allows Believers to sift information through their spiritual guidance center and proceed with assurance. When that happens, a Believer has the joy of saying to God as Mary did …”Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.”…Luke 1: 38
All Scripture is from the NASB version of the Holy Bible