To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

 

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." 

Mary had "found favor with God," but that favor did not mean instant success, power, money or fame.  It meant that she would have to suffer ridicule and gossip.  It meant that the man she was engaged to marry would come very close to turning away from her.  It meant that she would end up having her baby in a stable, with donkeys and cattle as witnesses.  It meant that she would have to flee with her husband to the foreign land of Egypt for fear of their child being murdered.  It meant that she would have to watch her oldest son suffer and die on a cross.

 

But through her pain, her son would be the only hope of the world.  Through her pain would come the One who would provide salvation to all who will accept it.  Through her pain, God would illustrate His infinite love for mankind.  Through her pain, God could finish His plan.

 

God has a plan for your life, too.  But the road that follows His plan is often rocky and rough.  Most of us require a large amount of honing before we become a shining reflection of Jesus.  We have many, many rough spots that God must “polish away” before we can reflect Jesus to the world in the way He wants us to.  And before we can accomplish what He has for us to do, we have to be educated, we have to learn through His Word and through the school of hard knocks exactly how we are to handle the job He’s given us.  But, just like Mary, through our pain, He is able to make His glory shine to the world around us.

 

If you are a born again believer, you have "found favor with God."  And that doesn’t mean smooth sailing.  That means that God will do whatever it takes to mold you into the person He wants you to be.  So if your life is rough right now, be patient.  Praise God that you have found favor with Him.  And marvel at what He does with you in order to carry out His plan.

 

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV