Luke 1:26-28

"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."

Notice here at Gabriel is the same messenger for both Zechariah and Mary! I think that is really cool! Many times we realize that Gabriel was the one who told Mary about Jesus' birth, but we fail to remember that he was also the one to tell of John's birth too!

Today as our family studied these verse together, we were again reminded that we are highly favored by God and that He is always with us! The news that Mary was about to receive would change her world as she knew it. She would hear that she, a virgin, would become pregnant by the Holy Spirit. That could be troubling news! She wasn't formally married and could be stoned for such a pregnancy! Gabriel wanted to assure her that she was highly favored by God and that He would be with her through this journey.

We all have times that are especially troubling in our lives. A child passes away, a diagnosis of cancer enters our family, an unexpected job loss happens, or financial troubles hit us and we don't feel very favored at ALL! Many times we wonder where God is at all in this situation that has rocked our lives...that has changed everything.

You see favor here simply means "grace and loving-kindness." Haven't we received such grace and loving-kindness through Jesus Christ as our Savior? What a gift of favor Mary is receiving for herself from God...but also for all of mankind! Because of God's gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, we can truly understand what it means to be favored by God and to have His presence with us.

These verses remind us that even in the midst of seemingly earth-shattering situations in our lives, God's grace and loving-kindness is always with us. That is the rock that our lives are built upon through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Today, let's be reminded afresh of the grace and loving-kindness of our God. Take comfort in the fact that you ARE loved by God and the He IS with you at all time in every circumstance. He will never leave us or forsake us...because He can not forsake His own.