Luke 1:30-32,34-35,37-38,45-49 NASB
The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. [32] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; [34] Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” [35] The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. [37] For nothing will be impossible with God.” [38] And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. [45] And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”
[46] And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord,
[47] And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
[48] “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
[49] “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.
When the angel came to Mary, he announced the favor of God on her life, and when Mary in verse 48, 49 describest his favor she says ” the Mighty One has done great things for me”, and that from that point forward all generations would call her blessed. There are two attitudes that God found in Mary that postured her for God to bless her and do such great things for her. First, without any concern of the cost in her own life, Mary declared, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may be done to me according to your word.” Even though there were losses that Mary was going to suffer as a result of carrying the Christ child, she also knew that anything that she might have to give up, whether it be relationships, or reputation, the favor of the Lord would far outweigh any sacrifice required from her. The enemy lies to us, and deceives us into thinking and feeling, that if we surrender ourselves to the will of God in certain areas, the price will be too high; when the truth is, that no matter what kind of price we have to pay, the great things God’s going do will cause those losses to pale in insignificance compared to the blessing.
The second attitude that Mary had that postured her to experience great blessing in her life, was the attitude of faith, for Elizabeth said to her in verse 45, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what it been spoken to her by the Lord.” Her radical surrender to the will of God, no matter the cost, and her disposition of faith released the great favor of God in her life. Having given the promise to Mary concerning the miracle of the birth of Christ, Mary didn’t start begging God to fulfill his word, or hoping that he would fulfill his word; she simply believed. Remember, faith isn’t hoping that God will; faith is trusting that he is. These two dispositions of abandoned surrender, and confident expectation, are what postured her for great blessing.
Mary is a great spiritual mentor, for she teaches us that if we are going to know the blessing of God, and the great things of God released in our lives we must continually live in the attitude of abandonment, and confidence.