And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:28-33 NKJV)
I've often wondered what was going through Mary's mind after Gabriel left her that day. Was she bombarded with thoughts of "what are they going to think of me?" Or "What is Joseph going to say." I can't even imagine how nervous she was when she went to tell Joseph that she was expecting a child that wasn't his.
Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:19-21 NLT)
Joseph had every right to leave Mary. In their culture an engagement could only be broken by a divorce, it was legally binding. What we don't realize is that not only could Joseph have divorced Mary but adultery, and such was punishable with the penalty of death by stoning. Joseph must have loved Mary dearly and completely trusted her to even consider breaking their engagement quietly.
Ultimately God had an amazing plan. He sent Gabriel to prepare Mary for what was to come. When he said “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God", I think he was telling her to not be afraid of what was to come. Mary, don't be afraid of being pregnant. Don't be afraid to tell Joseph. Don't be afraid of what people will think. Don't be afraid of what they will say or do. Mary, don't be afraid because you have favor with God!
Favor is defined as approval, support, or popularity. Favor is also a special privilege or right.
God doesn't care what the world thinks of you, neither should you! His opinion of you is the only one that matters.
Like Mary, you are highly favored!
YOU have been fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalms 139:14)
YOU are a child of God.
YOU are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. (2 Cor. 5:21)
YOU are chosen, holy, and blameless and you have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. (Eph 1:3,4)
YOU are His treasured possession. (Deut. 7:6)
Mary didn't concern herself with what could have been. She did as Gabriel told her to do, Mary Rejoiced! See Mary's Song: Luke 1:46
Mary realized that God's plan for her life was for much more that just herself. She knew that she had a part in bringing salvation to the world.
We need to remind ourselves who we are daily. We can't dwell on the "what if's" or what people might think about us. Or what the enemy is saying about us. Our part might not be birthing a precious little baby, who is King Jesus, but God has things that he wants to do through us too. Each and everyone of us has a part, we each have a role to play in this life and it is significant!
As we celebrate the birth of Jesus let’s rejoice in who He is! The King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Prince of Peace.
9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” (Luke 2:9-14)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
~Calla Cuff
No comments:
Post a Comment