Luke 1:26-30 ESV
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, [27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. [28] And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” [29] But she was GREATLY TROUBLED at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. [30] And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
If an archangel appeared to me and called me highly favored and acknowledged that the Lord was with me that I think I would feel pretty good about myself and my relationship with Christ. It is fascinating to me that having had Gabriel speak those things to Mary about her relationship with God, she was greatly troubled, trying to discern what sort of greeting this was. It seems to me that it was a pretty wonderful greeting, and yet Mary was greatly troubled. Why? Is it possible that Mary was familiar enough with the ways of God that she knew that with an expanded manifestation of God’s favor and purpose in her life, it would likely also bring a price to pay? Remember, at this point in our conversation with Gabriel, she did not yet know what the favor was going to look like. She had no way of knowing yet that Gabriel was going to tell her that she would give birth to the Messiah. All she knew was that Gabriel was announcing something big over her life. Anytime there is an expansion of God’s manifest favor and purpose in your life, there’ll always be some things that you will have to let go of. Paul said in Philippians 3 that he suffered the loss of all things that he might gain Christ, but he also said that all those things he had let go of were like manure compared to life in Christ. Mary did experience the loss of some things as a result of God’s favor on her life. She had to walk through some real battles, including whether or not Joseph, and understand that her pregnancy wasn’t the result of her being unfaithful. She also suffered the loss of her reputation as a moral, godly woman. She had to watch her firstborn son crucified on the cross.
In light of all that is, it also possible that when you find yourself going through real battles that those battles or those losses you’re experiencing could be evidence of the fact that you actually are moving into a new realm of God’s favor and expansion of God’s purposes in your life. I find that many times when Christians go through difficulties, they practice the presence of the enemy, and engaging in spiritual warfare becomes their chief priority. Even if the enemy is involved in bringing the battle into your life, as a Christian, you should always first and foremost practice the presence of Jesus, acknowledging the fact that in the storm, He is there walking on water inviting you to walk on water too, therefore expanding your spirituality, and posturing you for “the more” of God’s purposes in your life. It’s okay to glance at the enemy from time to time to tell him “Boo,” but we walk with Jesus by keeping our gaze on Him and the kind intentions of His will for our life. If you’re going to something hard, then maybe you’re actually passing through into something extraordinarily good in God’s plans for your life. Usually, mighty expansion in your life spiritually involves some necessary subtractions. Keep your gaze on Jesus. Expect, anticipate and celebrate the gain even when your physical eyes can only see the losses.