The Coming Promise预览

DAY 2: The Appearance of Favor

When someone says, “Alex has favor on his life” or “God’s favor is on Lindsey,” what immediately comes to your mind? Do you think they have money, a nice car, a great family, or a big house? 

I think many times we look at favor and connect it with material things. We connect it to what’s in our bank account, our highlights on social media, or what we have inside our house or in our driveway. 

What if God’s view of favor is different than ours? 

Luke 1:28-33 says, “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 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.’”

In Gabriel’s conversation with Mary, he states twice that she is "favored by God": 

1. "You who are HIGHLY FAVORED." 

2. "You have found FAVOR WITH GOD." 

After the second reminder of her “Favor with God,” Gabriel's next sentence is, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.” I’m not sure about you, but to me, this doesn’t sound like favor. This so-called favor sounds more like a potential death sentence. Mary didn’t know if Joseph would stay with her. Joseph could have divorced her or even allowed her to be stoned.

Let’s say she did think Joseph would be forgiving. She's pregnant and she’s supposed to be a virgin until they are officially married. How does she explain this to everyone around her? Hopefully gossiping wasn’t as bad then as it is now. Could you imagine if they had Facebook? How fast do you think this story would have spread? Could you imagine the shame she would have felt? 

If she’s "highly favored by God," I assume she had incredible character, which means said character is now in question. On top of her character being in question, people are talking about her family, Joseph, and Joseph's family. Nine months of this gossip; nine months that she had to carry this version of favor. 

Have you ever considered that testing comes with favor?

What if favor means you are stepping out into an unexplainable season where you feel insane?

What if favor means some people will lose respect for you, or even question your faith?

What if God is calling you to something that causes your friends to leave you?

The bottom line is: are you going to trust God? Do you believe God will bring His promise to life? 

Luke 1:37 says, “For no word from God will ever fail.”’

What’s the promise God has given you? What has God asked you to do?

Do your actions show that you believe He will not fail you as you step out in faith and obedience?