"Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you!"~Luke 1:28 (ISV)
The angel Gabriel greeted Mary by saying she was "highly favored." We can learn so much from Mary’s attitude and how her attitude was exactly what God was looking for when it came to the appointed time for Him to send us a Savior. When Zechariah was approached by the angel Gabriel in Luke 1 announcing the conception of Zechariah's son John the Baptist, Zechariah’s response in verse 18 was “how can I be sure of this?” This doubt resulted in Zechariah not being able to speak throughout his wife’s entire pregnancy until he was able to announce the name of their son “John” to the priests. Talk about a joy buster! Zechariah was limited in all communication of his hopes, expectations and desires about this great blessing he and Elizabeth had received from the Lord. He couldn’t even speak to her about the vision he had in the temple before she became pregnant. On the other hand, Mary’s response to the very same angel in Luke 1:38 was quite different, Mary told the angel Gabriel “I am the Lord’s servant, may your word to me be fulfilled." (NIV) Mary's attitude was “bring it on!” God tells us in Hebrews 11:6 “without faith it is impossible to please God.” (NIV) Scripture confirms that God chooses those who will trust Him to be Lord of the outcome to do great things in their lives and for their generation. He chooses those who will trust Him despite what their circumstances look like or where they came from. He chooses those who are looking for Him to do miraculous things in their lives. God is looking for those who have an eye for “what’s next”. We must learn to look ahead at the possibilities of the great things God can do instead of expecting what yesterday has taught us. That’s living in the past.
How do you respond when someone tells you something good is going to happen? Do you receive it with joy, or do you start thinking about your past experiences and talking about only what your current circumstances dictate? We cannot ascribe more power to what we believe holds us back than to our God who created all things. Notice that in both Zechariah and Mary’s circumstances God’s sovereign will was going to come to pass. His promise of both a forerunner and a Savior was going to happen. But their experiences of what God was doing in the earth for their generation was determined by their ability to believe in the miraculous. How many times over the course of his wife’s pregnancy do you think Zechariah thought “if I had only kept my mouth shut”? How many times do you have that very same thought? One of the greatest lessons we can learn from Zechariah is that if we don't have the ability to respond with faith, we should probably not say anything at all. We need to stop the flow of negativity and doubt before God has to do it for us. We also don’t have to wait for someone else to come prophesy good things over our lives. We can do it ourselves. The bible is full of God's promises we can call our own. Psalms 84:11 tells us “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (ESV) NO GOOD THING! Remind yourself of that promise today and see if it doesn't put a skip in your step.
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight. ~Ephesians 1:7-8 (ESV)
How will you respond to God's declaration of His unfailing love and goodness toward you today?
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