A Daily Devotional with David Olatona
Main Text
Luke 1:26-33
Watchword
And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
Luke 1:28 NKJV
This statement of “blessed and highly favored” was not a promise but a proclamation of grace. God’s choice of Mary to bear this child springs from his grace, not from any inherent merit that she possesses. She is the object of God’s unmerited, graciously provided goodness. Everyone in the body of Christ is highly favored because God has accepted us through the justification brought about by Christ’s sacrifice. We are all graced to receive favor from God and we often do.
Mary was full of grace, and so is every believer. She is not a dispenser of favor, but a recipient of it, just like rest of us. The angel said three things to say to Mary. First, that she is highly favored. Second, that the Lord is with her. Third, that she is blessed. All this was certainly true of Mary, who has a unique privilege among any person to ever live. However, all these things are true of the believer in Jesus. We are highly favored as Mary was (Ephesians 1:6), the Lord is with us (Matthew 28:20), and we are blessed (Ephesians 1:3).
To be “Highly favored” means that you have been “endowed and pursued with grace, compassed with special favor from God, and honored with blessings. “The Lord is with you implies that you enjoy grace that brings God’s special presence into your life. “Blessed are you among women” connotes the grace that brings God’s promotion into our lives meaning to cause to prosper, to make happy, to bestow blessings on. Just knowing that the Lord has blessed you as a believer! and you need to rejoice because you are blessed and highly favored.
Confession
Oh Lord, here I am taking hold on this declaration of grace that I am blessed and favored because you are always with me. Amen.
Prayer
Everlasting father, open my eyes so that I will always value the dimension and distribution of your grace in every situation in my life. Amen.
Additional Reading
Daniel 10:19
Luke 1:30