Scripture
And he {Gabriel} came to her and said, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”
~Luke 1:28, RSV
Quote
When you hear, “Hail favored one, the LORD is with you,” you are about to be asked to do something so impossible that it can only be accomplished through God’s enabling power.
~Calvin Miller
Our Heavenly Father is the great enabler. His Holy Spirit enables the feeble to accomplish the unbelievable. Gideon is the classic example. And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor.” Gideons response was shock and awe: “Excuse me, if I am a man of valor, why am I hiding from the Midianites?” Well, we all know how that story turned out: Gideon became a mighty man of valor. I am sure that when the angel spoke to him about his mighty valor, he thought to himself, “you have to be kidding.” Luke says that when the Gabriel spoke to Mary, “She was greatly troubled.” Then Gabriel said, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” How is Mary going to explain to her betrothed Joseph and her friends that she is pregnant and has never been with a man?
Mary’s response is off the charts. How could anyone be critical of this young Maiden? Her final words to Gabriel were, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” That is like saying, His will is my will, and my calling is to please Him. This coupled with the wedding at Cana is my two favorite stories of Mary. Here she gives a submissive answer, and in John two, the wedding at Cana, she says to the servants, “Whatever He {Jesus} tells you to do, do it!” This is a statement of extraordinary faith. Both Mary’s submissiveness and faith are praiseworthy.
Extra
November is cruising right on by just like the rest of 2023. I love the tempts, just wish we had some rain to go with it. Maybe we will get a little by Thanksgiving. I don’t think the storm in the gulf is going to help us. It looks like to me, the rain will come no further than Birmingham. At least our friends in L.A. will get some rain.
I hope you have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.