LUKE 1:30-33

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him 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 Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 

TO PONDER

Probably the most significant event in your life growing up would be leaving the family home and making your way in the world outside of those familiar surroundings. What was the reason you moved out of home for the first time? Was it to go to University? Was it because you got a flash new job in the city? Did you simply want to ‘spread your wings’ and make your own way in the world and explore everything the world had to offer? Was it for not so ‘fun’ reasons that you’d rather not talk about? Were you able to have all the plans in place, or did it just seem to all happen at once? While I was trepidatious at first, and all this had happened for me quite quickly in the last weeks of the 2020 school year, I saw it as a good opportunity to ‘spread my wings’ and dive into my adult adventure on my own, away from the house, the town, and the people I knew. As it turned out, on the day I chose to tell everyone at my home congregation that I was moving away, the Bishop was there, and he said to me “We have a church plant out there at Penrith that’s just started, so you should go along when you settle in to your new home and school”. From there, the rest, as they say, was history.

‘She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind her… But the angel assured her “Mary, you have nothing to fear. You have found favour with God.” 

It is estimated that Mary was 12-14 years old when the angel brought her the “good news” that she had “found favour with God” and was pregnant. Mary’s life was thoroughly shaken, her former hopes and dreams were hijacked by her God, she was shaken.

Mary’s response was “I am the Lord’s servant, May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Verse 38), Mary committed to the shaking plans of her God joining Him in the adventure that would change the world.

PRAYER:  Mighty God, So, I thank you that in those big life shaking events that you, my God are always behind everything to assure me that you have a plans for me, and that I should not be afraid. Amen.

Today's devotion written by John Robertson, LifeWay Westside