Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. –
Luke 1:30-31
After the angel of the Lord had visited Zacharias, someone else received an angelic visitation. The person’s name was Mary. Mary was a younger cousin of Zacharias’ wife, Elizabeth.Luke 1:30-31
Mary was a young woman engaged to a carpenter called Joseph. Though they were engaged, they were living apart and waiting for the main wedding ceremony. While waiting, Mary had a visit from a heavenly messenger called Gabriel. Gabriel’s message was the most important announcement ever made on our planet.
Gabriel’s message started with a caution – ‘don’t be afraid’. Many times, when an angel appeared to someone in the Bible, they urged them not to be afraid. The reason is that we serve God out of faith and not out of fear. Faith receives the promises of God; fear shuts our hearts from God. Mary was probably in a state of uncertainty and anticipation and at the same time, trying to calm her nerves. The angel’s opening words helped her to keep her mind on the Lord.
‘You have found favour with God’, said the angel Gabriel to Mary. That message meant that God had selected Mary out of all women of all cultures, morality or classes throughout human history. When you consider all the women in history, from queens to matriarchs, to warriors, to graceful beauties, to social achievers, you would wonder why God would select Mary? The scriptures do not give us an exact reason except that we can all agree that God’s grace usually reaches out to us without our effort.
God’s favour is God’s favour. We can’t buy it, nor negotiate for it, nor steal it. Though there are things we can do to predispose us to God’s grace, it is not in our power to acquire grace from God. God did not favour Mary because of what she had done. God showed her favour because of what He had willed to do.
The angel told Mary what God’s favour would enable her to do. She would carry the Son of God in her womb and give birth to Him. What a message to give to a lowly woman! The Most High God reached to an unheralded woman in a little village and lifted her to be the most blessed woman in human history. The angel’s visitation to Mary instructs us about the sovereignty of God. He does what He does with whom He wants to do it. Though the Lord may not show us favour in the same measure as He did for Mary, His unique favour can reach forth to each one of us.
No matter where we are in life, God can find us and act out His purposes through us.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, let me find favour in Your sight. I receive Your help and ability for what You want me to do. In Jesus’s Name, Amen!Scripture Reading:
Luke 1:26-38
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