Living The Blessed Life: Mary Noticed And Favoured Amongst Others

 

Mary, Favoured Amongst Women 

Luke 1:28

"And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women."

Picking a person in the crowd for special purpose is not something we can easily throw away. People are selected for various reasons. You never know when you will be selected and for what purpose. It is up to you however to be ready when you are selected. First, get it that you are noticed in many different ways from many sources. What matters is that you are at the right place at the right time doing the right things for the right purpose. What is considered right depends on your relationship with God and man, the rules and laws that governs your life and the purpose of your existence.

God has a special eye on you. All power belongs to Him and He can cause anything to happen in your favour. Does God have favourite? It all depends on from what perspective you are looking at things. You and every other person you may see around you can be great in many ways. Discovery of purpose is what makes others to appear to be the more favourite of God. Not just discovery of purpose that matters but pursuit of purpose and finding of happiness doing so. Mary was one who you may easily conclude that she was special and was God's favourite for nothing done on her side to merit the favour.

"And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women."

Hevean Noticed Mary 

There is no random selection before God. God sees the end from the beginning and also the beginning from the end. He sees the hidden and the open. He knows the in and the out of it all. When He points at a person, there is more to it than the eyes can see. It can never be a mistake even if the person may not be perfect. God noticed Mary not by accident.

Luke 1:26-27

"And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary."

After six months that John the Baptist was conceived, Angel Gabriel was sent to Mary from God. Why was she chosen? Only God knows the details but by observation, we will notice that she had been on heaven's radar for a while. Timing, location and 'separation' was all factored into the choice. 

Timing 

"And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God.. "

In the sixth month of the conception of John the Baptist, the angel was sent to Mary. Why? Because John the Baptist was meant to go ahead of Jesus to prepare the way for Jesus' ministry. It was deliberately arranged by heaven. Six months earlier, John the Baptist's case was settled. Everything was working according to the timetable.

Location 

"...unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,..."

Timing was important but equally was location. Why Nazareth? When Jesus spoke as a prophet, he was knows as a prophet from Nazareth. Demons recognized him to have come from Nazareth. Nazareth was prophetic.

Matthew 2:23

"And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene."

Location was important. Mary was at the right place at the right time when the angel was sent to her.

Separation 

To pick someone in the crowd for special use, the person picked must live a life that is separate from the crowd in some way. There must be something different.

 "... virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary."

Virginity meant that she was not careless with sex. She was disciplined enough to put a check on her life. She had self control. Separated herself by being sexually disciplined. No wonder Joseph noticed her. The angel could easily locate her because of timing, location and 'separation'. God does not do things by accident. We may not be able to explain everything but God knows it all. God knows your heart. He knows the noise and the voices speaking to you. He knows whether you are at the right place at the right time or not. He knows whether you are disciplined or not. He knows your weakness and strength. He is ready to help you in your weakness to bring you out and capitalize on your strength. Will you respond so that He can reposition you for special use?

Mary Accepted 

Preconceived ideas can hinder a man or a woman from getting the blessings of God. Had Mary considered riches and wealth to be the only expression of a blessed life, she would not have accepted the message from the angel.

"And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women."

Heaven favoured her and she was chosen among many women. The greeting from the angel clearly showed how favoured she was.

".., Hail, thou that art highly favoured, ...blessed art thou among women."

This was coming from an angel. It was not a careless statement. It was not a slip of the tongue. It was deliberate. This is the kind of blessing that money cannot buy. A word from God can change your life forever. If God says that you are blessed, nothing is as powerful as that. She was called blessed and that is the way it remained. This however may not have become a reality had she not accepted. Did she accept this pronouncement?

Luke 1:38

"And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her."

When she accepted the message from the angel, nothing became impossible again. Things began to happen. Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist saw Mary, she also concurred that Mary was blessed.

Luke 1:38,42

"And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb."

God was at work and will not stop until His word comes to pass. It was one miracle after another. From miraculous provision to the miraculous birth. From one breakthrough to another, Mary knew that Jesus was not an ordinary child. He brought so much goodwill to her. She was fulfilled until the time of Jesus' death. Thereafter, she saw more miracles. All generations will call Mary blessed.

You will be singled out. You will be at the right time and at the right place doing the righ things for the right reason(s). Will you be disciplined and ready when heaven comes for you? Will you say 'YES!' to God. Will you be at peace with Him?

Pray 

My God and my Father, favour me as You favoured Mary. Teach and help me to be at the right place and at the right time, doing the right things. Help me to be disciplined and self controlled so that I remain seperate from others to carry the responsibility before me to fulfill my purpose. I thank You for blessing me as I stand with You.

This I pray in Jesus' name. Amen!