I struggle with all types of fears, both real and imagined. I see friends either expanding in trusting God or floundering in despair. In my own heart, often I wonder about God’s plans as I navigate through a world unrecognizable from ten years ago. What does God say to my heart during these times of turbulence? He points to Mary.
CHOSEN AND “FAVORED”
Only a simple teenage girl, Mary, came from a backwater town. So why did God choose Mary? God never provides any extensive explanation. The angel announces to Mary that she is chosen to be the mother of the Messiah. God “favors” this unwed girl to give birth to the Chosen One, the Savior of the world. She only knows that God has chosen her. God “favors” her.
I always connect “favor” with honor: someone given front row seats, the keys to the city and a crown on their head. It is hard to combine the concept of favor with heartbreak.
FAVOR AND HEARTBREAK
In Luke 1 the angels twice calls Mary “favored by God”; blessed by God. He makes her the most honored woman on earth, but she will become intimately acquainted with the worst heartbreak known to humanity. At the angel’s initial announcement, she feels both fear and uncertainty mixed with joy. This expands and painfully stretches her heart year by year. She sees her beloved Son grow up and do the unexpected, time after time. Her sinless Son lives in a broken world, attacked by the forces of hell.
DO NOT FEAR
This favored woman daily needs the angel’s words to resonate in her heart: The God who redeems you and ever will keep you is near, do not fear. In these days of darkness, I also need this promise and hope. The God who redeems me and ever keeps me is near. Do not fear.
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)
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