Friends, I apologize! These “twelve” days have already taken me almost thirty days to write!! We still have quite a few more to go for this “month long” challenge!

I am beginning to wonder, though,…

What shall I write about next??

Feel free to offer ideas for another Lectio_Divina study topic when BEING UNAFRAID is completed!

Open your Bibles, folks, we are going to be reading an oldie but goodie…

LUKE 1:26-38

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 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. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be”, Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”

“I am the Lord’s servant”, Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”

Then the angel left her.

NIV

Most of us are very familiar with this passage…especially those who celebrate Christmas or have watched the Charlie Brown Christmas Special year after year.

Regardless, let’s put it into context as per our practice.

The telling of this event is written by Luke, a physician. We must remember that detail because the temptation to reflect on Mary’s story as fictitious is tempting…As a doctor writing these events, Luke KNOWS how babies are made and how UNBELIEVABLE these events will sound once recorded and shared.

BUT, YET, HE WROTE THIS LETTER ANYWAY BECAUSE HE BELIEVED ON FAITH THAT WHAT HE WROTE WAS POSSIBLE WITH GOD.

I think it is good to remember that Luke’s credibility as a doctor in the eye of his contemporaries was on the line by writing this account as truth.

Mary was a young, poor, teenage girl who was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph (who happened to be in the ancestral line of King David). She was not anyone that would have stood out in her time: women were inconsequential in those days.

We first met the angel Gabriel all the way back in the Old Testament book of Daniel (Daniel 8:15) where he (Gabriel) was instructed to tell Daniel the meaning of a vision that God was showing him.

We see Gabriel again in the previous chapter of Luke when he had been the angel chosen to visit Elizabeth’s husband Zechariah to prophesy the birth of his son, John the Baptist.

Luke 1:19 tells us this about Gabriel: he is one who stands in the presence of God and is sent to tell good news.

With all that in mind, I guess we need to put ourselves in Mary’s shoes when we read this passage again.

Here we go…What stands out as you read this a second time?

1. Mary was greatly troubled by his words…

An angel suddenly appears in front of Mary and she is troubled by his words???!!! What words troubled her do you think?

The next part of that verse says she wondered what kind of greeting this might be…

So, it seems Mary is troubled (worried, afraid, concerned) over the greeting of an angel that said the Lord is with her and she is highly favored.

She felt it was ominous? Did she think she was going to die? Was she afraid she would be hurt? Was she scared she was going to be asked to do something she didn’t think she was ready for???

Whatever it was, I HIGHLY DOUBT Mary had ANY IDEA AT ALL that the angel of the Lord was going to tell her she was about to become pregnant with the Savior of the world!!!

But, she was still troubled by the unknowing….

You ever been there?

Someone wants to share good news with you, but your mind goes to the worst case scenario first?

They got a promotion in their job…but, to you, that means they may move away.

The Lord has called them to do something in service to Him…but, to you, that means they may make new friends and leave you behind.

They are going on a wonderful vacation…but, to you, that means they could be hurt in a travel accident.

There is a lot to be afraid of in that UNKNOWN isn’t there?

I think we all have camped out in that campground before too- if we’re being honest enough to admit it.

2. DO NOT BE AFRAID…YOU HAVE FOUND FAVOR WITH GOD

Again, the reassurance of the angel Gabriel is NOT in an introduction of who he is or how he got there….it is found in who Mary is in the eyes of God.

Do not be afraid because you have found favor with God.

We could finish this right there.

Do not be afraid, my friends….why not? Because YOU TOO have found favor with God. How do I know that to be true?

John 3:16

For God SO LOVED THE WORLD that He gave His ONE AND ONLY SON, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

NIV

The purpose of this WHOLE passage is how much God loves us…He went to great IMPOSSIBLE measures to ensure that we KNOW it.

Do not be afraid for you have found favor in God.

God believed in Mary to do something for Him so she had no reason to be afraid!

3. Gabriel tells Mary the news of her upcoming pregnancy through the Holy Spirit and confirms the improbability of this truth by informing her of Elizabeth’s miraculous pregnancy.

Here’s the rub guys~

The testimony of others gives us confidence to step out in faith.

Do you think you CAN’T do something? Do you think something will NEVER happen for you?

When you doubt, it is important to ask God to help you with your disbelief! Look for the example of overcoming in other’s stories! Be encouraged by their memoirs of faith!

If you have not done it, READ HEBREWS 11 OUT LOUD! The testimonials of faith should speed up your heart rate in excitement as you read it

4. FOR NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD

Seriously, there it is folks… NOTHING. IS. IMPOSSIBLE.

After all, WHO is God?

He is sovereign.

He is the creator of all things.

He is the beginning and the end.

He is omniscient.

He is omnipotent.

He is all things good.

He IS love.

KNOWING God allows you to TRUST Him. KNOWING God allows you to BELIEVE that what He says IS true.

Mark 9:24

Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!

NIV

5. I am the Lord’s servant.

Mary did not understand what the angel was telling her. She had no idea what was in-store for her…for her SON. Yet, she said yes.

She trusted God in her unknowing.

She trusted God in her fear.

She trusted God in her worries.

She trusted God with the impossible.

Have you been able to do that, friend?

Have you turned all that you are afraid of over to the Lord?

Have you found comfort in knowing that you have found favor in God and that He believes in you because He loves you?

There is FREEDOM in letting go of YOUR plan for your life and letting God have His way in you.

There is a promise for an abundant life waiting for you to grab onto only if you trust Him with everything…even those things that do not make sense…even those things that you feel like you need to hang onto as an anchor.

Our God IS the God of the impossible who is capable of doing immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine…He loves you. He cares for you. He wants only good for you and has only a good plan for you in His Kingdom.

I will pray that would be able to say YES, LORD…I am your servant and see what IMPOSSIBLE things He will do in your life today.