The
angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is
with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at
his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said
to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. (Luke Chapter
1)
You’d think
these words would be a comfort, right? Probably not a good sign when you hear
the words – Do not be afraid. Look again, the angel actually had repeat himself
and tell her again that he was with her because God favored her. Favor from God
means being used by God. Being used by God means having faith in God.
IN 2014 I was watching a Christmas themed movie and
one of the lines was, “For those that had faith, Christmas was more than a
story”. When I heard line this I realized that God had given us three examples
of faith that were displayed in different forms through Mary, Joseph and the
Shepherds.
Mary was a
young girl excited about her wedding day.
World rocked but God’s glory accomplished. In the face of family shuns
and refusal of her fiancé, she agreed to mother our Savior. A call to Faith
that was un-natural.
This favor of
God isn’t just for women or virgins giving birth to saviors – oh no… husbands
are included too. Hear this from Matthew
chapter 1:
An angel of the Lord appeared to him in
a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid. Take Mary home as
your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Joseph’s
faith was also put to the test in this familiar Christmas story. Contrary to
all traditions and cultural norms this man was asked to bear ridicule and
judgement from family and friends – for a girl!! Or that’s how it appeared. A
call to Faith that was un-traditional. World rocked but God’s glory accomplished. I
can’t even imagine how close Mary & Joseph must have felt and how strong
their bond was after being “favored” by God in this world changing plan. Of
course to them, it was their life.
Even regular
work a day Joes are not exempt from finding favor from God. Shepherds, some of which were children, had
one strange night as detailed in their story:
And there were shepherds living out in the
fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the
glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel
said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great
joy for all the people.” (Luke Chapter
2)
Again, we hear the angels telling people to not be
afraid. Most of us have probably assumed that the fear was at the sight of the
angels. A call to Faith that was un-believable.
World rocked but God’s glory accomplished. A moment of fright at the sight of
them yes, but maybe for the shepherds and Joseph and Mary, the fear the angels
spoke about was actually going to appear in many forms as the plan unfolded in
their lives. To accomplish God’s plan these three had to put their faith in God
into action.
Fear and
Faith are not opposites. The opposite of faith is doubt and the opposite of
fear is peace. When find ourselves in the favor of God, doubt has no place in
our lives. While being used of God we can find ourselves in uncomfortable
positions and periods in our lives that are not easy.
Fear is a
weapon of the enemy and people are driven by the need to have things easy. God
doesn’t use a factor of easy in His plans. He uses the factor of Love. And we all know Love isn’t easy. Fear doesn’t
have to be a part of our uneasiness, as the angels remind us, instead we can
let peace be the ruler of our hearts and minds.
“Jesus said, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’ ”
Luke 7:50 (NIV)
**Lord, I
want to be used by you and I want to be found in your favor. Thank you for even considering me in your
plans and thank you for providing a way for all things to work for your good. I know things won’t be easy but please give
me faith to continue following your plan every day. Even when I doubt - I
believe in you!! Even when I'm afraid - I love you and I know you
love me. **
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