Happy Holidays! It is my absolute favorite time of the year. I have been listening to Christmas music since September, and I won’t stop now. One of my favorite Christmas songs is “Mary Did You Know,” the Braxton Family Christmas album version. If you haven’t heard it, I’ve shared the link in this post. The song speaks to the part of Mary, who may not have known the magnitude of what she carried in her womb. Or a part of her that was in awe of what has become of what she once carried. God had given her a gift, Jesus, who would change to the entire world up to this very day. As we celebrate the ultimate gift during this season, I want to focus on the gifts we glance over that are mentioned in the nativity story of Jesus, starting with a gift given to Mary that God is still giving today.
28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Grace to you, young woman, for the Lord is with you, and so you are anointed with great favor.” 29 Mary was deeply troubled over the words of the angel and bewildered over what this may mean for her. 30 But the angel reassured her, saying, “Do not yield to your fear, Mary, for the Lord has found delight in you and has chosen to surprise you with a wonderful gift. 31 You will become pregnant with a baby boy, and you are to name him Jesus. “
Luke 1:28-31 The Passion Translation
Telling the whole truth. We tell a story of Mary as the virgin that gave birth to Jesus and her presence in the bible begins to fade. We are given little detail on what it was like to live out the calling that she did. But with little thought, we know that Mary had a very hard calling. It wasn’t the glorious stance that we get to take for Christ today. It was one with side-eyes from strangers and scoffs at the “pregnant virgin.” It was living on the run to escape death, and later watching her son die a brutal death. Mary probably felt the highs and lows of motherhood, the stresses of societal pressures and judgment, and the pain of suffering with every human fiber of her body, but I am assured she stood firm in the assignment God had given her. How? Because before it all began, God had anointed her with favor. (Luke 28)
Anointed With Favor. Mary was given the gift of favor! In the grand scheme of things, we’ve been taught that God’s favor is like a sprinkle of favoritism that causes everything to go well. But Mary’s life challenges this theory. Through the great things and the hard things, Mary was still favored by God. God’s Favor was not a thank you note from God to Mary for agreeing to sacrifice for God; it was the grace for the sacrifice. So how does this apply to you? God grants YOU favor to do great things and hard things.
What Does Favor Mean for You? I think the most relatable part of this story is “Mary was deeply troubled over the words of the angel and bewildered over what this may mean for her.” Luke 29. Mary knew that this favor was designated for something. It was for a life of purpose and impact. We all have our own individual measure of true impact to release into this world and favor confirms it. When we experience effortless strength, health, joy, creativity, peace (and a lot more), within the impact we are pursuing, we have tapped into that favor. It doesn’t mean it will feel perfect but it will feels divinely supported! Unfortunately, our culture is obsessed with the idea of “influence” but falls short of impact. Influence is about the now, impact is about the generations to come. It could be raising your kids, building your community, or changing your nation. Whatever it is, favor has been designated for it.
Experience Favor in our YES. Mary’s conception story in a way is all of our divine conception stories. Think about that, she experienced a divine conception and received God’s divine favor through her yes. Very similar to our walk with Christ, if we want to carry the Spirit of God within us, have a purpose of true impact, and walk-in favor, we must say yes! We begin the journey of living life with Christ and that journey gets deeper and deeper with each yes. Victories and challenges will come during the journey, but God’s favor is already present. It’s incredible to know that at the very beginning of your story, God has already met your needs to overcome. If we want to experience this benefit, we must say yes.
Key take away here; God’s given you favor, its for a reason, just say yes! This is only part 1 one of this 3 part series. Favor is just the beginning, but it all unfolds into a common theme of basically God has thought your life through sis/sir! He’s got this! I’m so excited to dig deeper into the word of God to see was else he has for us. Say yes to God and experience His favor.
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