Greetings, favoured wo/man!

Luke 1:26-38

The following month God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin, Mary, engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Congratulations, favored lady! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be frightened, Mary,” the angel told her, Gabriel appeared to her and said, "Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!"! Very soon now, you will become pregnant and have a baby boy, and you are to name him ‘Jesus.’ He shall be very great and shall be called the Son of God. And the Lord God shall give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he shall reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom shall never end!” Mary asked the angel, “But how can I have a baby? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of God shall overshadow you; so the baby born to you will be utterly holy     the Son of God. Furthermore, six months ago your Aunt Elizabeth—‘the barren one,’ they called her—became pregnant in her old age! For every promise from God shall surely come true.” Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to do whatever he wants. May everything you said come true.” And then the angel disappeared.

Food for thought!

Webster’s Dictionary defines the words “favor” as the “preference for one person over another.” Mary was favoured by God over all other women. The question is, why was Mary favoured? What did Mary do to merit God’s favor? The answer is “God shows favor on whoever he wills” (Romans 9:18)

God willed that Mary “conceive and bear a son, and name him Jesus. In other words, Mary was favoured so that she would conceive and bear the Son of God. Mary's favor is called Immaculate Conception. She was prepared to bear Jesus; because she was to bear the Savior, Mary was born spotless. 

Like Mary, you may have noticed in your life that there is a supernatural favor which follows you wherever you go. You may have noticed that despite people's persecution, misunderstanding, betrayal  hatred, you continue to survive and thrive; that despite problem after problem, you are still there, alive. It is because of God's favor on you. " God has marked you with something special, something extraordinary.

Paul was writing about you when he wrote these words:

“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit. 9 We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. 10 These bodies of ours are constantly facing death just as Jesus did; so it is clear to all that it is only the living Christ within who keeps us safe. (2Cor 4:8-11)

Today, let us celebrate not only Mary's special favor (Immaculate conception) but also our special favors. Let us take some time today to look at the favor or favors we have. And let's remember to pray Psalm 90:7 "Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands."

Because of God's favor we will overcome all the obstacles in our life; because we have a favor, we will pay all the debts that weigh us down; we will beat all our enemies. Yes, because we have God’s favor, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us(Philippians 4:13).

Prayer: Thank you, God, for your favor to Mary and to me. Like you did long ago  in Mary, you have truly shown your faithfulness and grace in my life. Continue to guard and guide me in your favor for me and help me to follow you with confidence and humility in the favor you have given me.