Note: This devotion material was purchased digitally from YM360 to be used for the Advent Season of 2024.
Day Six: The Announcement of Hope
“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” — Luke 1:26-38
Think about a time in your life when you felt truly scared. Take those emotions, multiply them by 100, and you can imagine how Mary likely felt when an angel told her that she would give birth to the Savior of the world.
In these verses, the angel Gabriel appears to Mary, and understandably, she is “greatly troubled.” Seeing an angel can do that to a person! Gabriel tells Mary not to be afraid and that she has found favor with God. Since God delights in Mary, He chooses her to give birth to Jesus. Gabriel lays out a few of the details: this baby will be the Son of God, He will come from the line of David, and His Kingdom will never end.
Clearly, Mary is in shock over both seeing an angel and hearing that she will soon be a mother. She knows that this is physically impossible, yet, her faith tells her that nothing is impossible with God. She recognizes that as a servant of God, she will do whatever He asks of her.
There is an old Christmas hymn called “Gabriel’s Message” that puts music to the words
of Luke 1. Near the end of the song, the author writes: “Of her, Emmanuel, the Christ was
born.” Mary gave birth to Jesus, also called “Emmanuel,” meaning “God with us.” This is the
great hope that Gabriel was celebrating and the same hope that we can celebrate today!
Questions:
1. In what areas of your life are you not fully obedient to God?
2. What steps do you need to take to surrender those areas to the Lord?
3. Why is it important to cling to hope, especially when we feel scared?