Highly Favored

As I asked God what the focus would be for this next year, I was reminded of the story of Mary and Joseph.

I thought it was my head playing tricks on me because it was the Christmas season. But when I couldn’t get away from the story, I decided to read Luke chapter one, verse by verse, and see if I was missing something; and I was.

 What stood out to me the most was this:

Luke 1:28 (NIV)

“Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

When the words highly favored jumped off the page, I was a little perturbed because it felt “too easy.”

So, I kept reading and realized there was nothing easy about Mary’s journey in carrying the Promise of God, but it didn’t matter because God declared her to be highly favored from the very beginning.

By all accounts, Joseph was quite the Jewish catch. He’s a descendant of King David and Bathsheba via Solomon, making Joseph a Jewish prince. Granted, it’s been fourteen generations since the Israelites’ captivity in Babylon began, and due to the curse placed on Jehoiachin, the line of Solomon cannot take the throne.

Still, it doesn’t negate the fact that Joseph comes from a lineage of kings. He’s a righteous man; he obeys God, and he’s a law-abiding citizen. He’s not vengeful; he’s actually quite compassionate. So Joseph meets Mary, and they become engaged. He leaves to prepare their home, while Mary waits for his return so they can get married.

The scriptures don’t tell us very much about Mary, but thanks to Luke, we know Mary is also a descendant of King David and Bathsheba via their other son, Nathan.

So, here’s Mary, living her best life. Engaged to a righteous, well-respected citizen, and one who is of royal lineage, like herself. Things are looking up for her when God interrupts her plans and asks her to risk it all.

In a very Mission Impossible moment, Mary, a seemingly average Nazarene woman, is asked to do something that will put her literal life on the line. Not just her hopes and dreams, not just her plans, but her life would have to be sacrificed to carry a Promise.

And Mary says yes to the mission; she says yes to the sacrifice; she says yes to the risks. She’s willing to give it all up, and she does it with such grace.

While today’s worldly culture accepts sex outside of marriage, such was not the case for Mary. Premarital sex could bring about anything from divorce to death. So when she said yes to God, she said yes to being judged; she said yes to rejection; she said yes to the possibility of death.

I love/hate that Gabriel approaches Mary in private. And in turn, Mary says yes in private. She trusts in private. She submits in private. She sacrifices in private. She carries the Promise in private.

And while Mary has no idea how this is going to work out, she knows only three things from Gabriel. One, she is highly favored; two, God is with her, and three, nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37).

Notice Mary didn’t ask twenty questions; she didn’t quiz Gabriel or God, she just rolled with the Promise. She simply trusted God.

And God did not leave Mary out to dry. He was already working behind the scenes with Joseph. He was preparing Joseph not only to provide for the Promise, but also to protect it.

And Gabriel appears to Joseph, telling him not to do what society tells him he has every right to do. Gabriel tells Joseph to defy his natural instincts and take a pregnant woman to be his wife.

This is where Joseph must risk his own reputation. This is where Joseph must sacrifice any pride he may have had. This is where Joseph must trust God. This is where Joseph gives God his yes, also in private. And when he goes to take Mary as his wife, he fulfills his Promise in public.

The Promise is made in private.

The provision is made in private.

The protection is made in private.

The Promise is fulfilled in public.

The promises of God will disrupt your life and your plans.

These promises are so big that you can’t make them happen on your own, and they are wondrous. They will take you where you never thought you’d go, but they will require sacrifice, obedience, and faith.

Thankfully, our loving God doesn’t just give us a promise and not equip us to carry it; and that’s why the first thing out of Gabriel’s mouth is the declaration that Mary is highly favored and the Lord is with her.

It’s the favor of God that brought Mary from a promise given to a promise fulfilled. God knew everything He was asking of Mary. He knew what she would have to give up; what she would have to go through. He knew she would need a lot of favor to get through the next season. He knew she’d face a lot of situations that would challenge her. He knew she’d need protection. He knew she’d need provisions. But what God also knew was that His favor would carry her while she carried the Promise, and He never left her to do it alone.

Many of us have promises from God we’re carrying around.

These promises challenge our faith and our pride. To carry a promise from start to finish takes an unwavering level of submission to the mission. Your Promise will face challenges.

Mary and Joseph were forced to make a treacherous journey to Bethlehem. The Promise was put in danger by those who wanted to destroy it, and then they couldn’t even find a decent place for Mary to give birth.

The devil will try to destroy your Promise, and if he can’t destroy it, he’ll make the journey as rough and uncomfortable as possible. And Gabriel doesn’t tell Mary she’ll have to go through any of this when he appears to her, which seems a little mean, but the fact is, the hardships she would endure wouldn’t matter because God declared Mary to be highly favored, and He was with her.

Mary was called to carry the Promise. Joseph was called to provide for and protect the Promise.

We’re all Marys carrying a promise. And God is Joseph, protecting it.

You must remember it’s God’s favor and presence that will take you from the Promise given to the Promise fulfilled.

Every struggle in between is meant to destroy your Promise. But YOU, oh child of the Most High, YOU are equipped, right now, even in your most broken state, to give birth to the Promise because God has declared you to be highly favored.

You need to know three things:

• You are highly favored

• God is with you

• Nothing is impossible with God

  
  

As you start 2025, and as God begins to speak to your heart, reminding you of past promises or giving you a new one, know that God is enveloping you with His favor. He is faithful to provide and to protect.

God is fully aware of what He’s asking you to do. He knows what you’ll have to sacrifice. And while there will be some challenging moments, there is a joy to be experienced as well.

Know that you are not ever meant to do this alone. You will have everything you need this year to carry your promises from start to finish.

Know that His favor is with you on the mountain top, and it’s with you in the valleys.

You will have big joyous moments, and you will celebrate the goodness of God. The journey won’t be without challenges, that’s okay, because His favor is on you, over you, and around you; understand it goes before you, and it makes a way where there seems to be no way.

You will walk this year and not grow faint. You will run and not be weary. You will live and not die. You will declare the goodness of God wherever you go. You will live to see the promises of God come to fruition in your life. You will see God go beyond your bare minimum and do exceedingly and abundantly more than you ever dared to dream or think was even possible.

2025 is the year to walk in the promises of God. To do this, you are not just favored, you are highly favored, oh child of God, and God is with you.

This year will exceed your expectations in all the best ways as you submit, obey, and have faith for God to bring about the fulfillment of even the most impossible promises.

And when 2025 is over, and you look back, you will see how the favor of God carried you, protected you, and provided for you.

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