Prepare For God To Visit you.

In a recent post, I shared a message I felt strongly about: this year being a year of favour, as inspired by Isaiah 61:2a. A key aspect of God's favour is His divine visitation. Consider the moment in Luke 1:28 when the angel greeted Mary with,

 "Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you."

This greeting highlights Mary as someone already blessed with God's special favour—a favour that signifies God's presence and purpose in our lives.

The term "favoured one" implies that this favour is not new; it's already complete—a perfect tense that suggests our lives are preordained even before we take our first breath. This aligns with what Jeremiah told the Israelites: "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11). It shows that God's favour encompasses more than we might realise, and it's irrevocable.

It's important to clarify that being "blessed and highly favoured" doesn't necessarily mean wealth or material blessings. We often associate favour with material success, but that's a common misconception. Indeed, favour isn't always about fairness or comfort. Sometimes, it means facing challenges that turn our lives upside down. Many biblical figures who were highly favoured experienced significant hardships, yet their lives glorified God immensely.

As we see from the angel's visit to Mary, the essence of being favoured involves divine intervention and purpose, not material wealth. When Mary was called "blessed and highly favoured," she was initially perplexed, pondering the depth of such a declaration.

Mary might have wondered, "How can this angel call me favoured? I'm just a poor teenage girl, not a well-known socialite, and I'm not married but engaged to a man who doesn't have much. We're from Nazareth, a small town in Galilee." Like Mary, you might question how you could be considered blessed when you see others with more material wealth.

However, it’s important to understand that being blessed and favoured isn't about having everything or appearing perfect. It's about God having a purpose for your life. It's not about achieving great riches but fulfilling that purpose. God's blessing is found in the purposes He sets for us, not in the possessions we accumulate.

When the angel declared Mary as favoured, it wasn't about her social status or wealth. The favour was about the significant role she was chosen to play, despite her humble circumstances. Her modest situation made God’s blessing stand out even more. Scripture tells us that God often chooses the seemingly weak or lowly to accomplish His grand purposes—to shame the strong and mighty, and to show that His choices aren't based on worldly standards.

Mary's experiences—facing ridicule for her unwed pregnancy, giving birth in a humble setting like a feeding trough, fleeing to Egypt, and witnessing the fulfilment of Simeon’s prophecy—were all part of the profound impact of God's favour. Her life illustrates that divine favour does not guarantee an easy path, but it does weave our experiences into a greater purpose that transcends our immediate circumstances. Mary's profound experience and the words from Luke 2:35, "a sword will pierce through your own soul," we see the depth of the challenges she faced. Watching her son, Jesus, being crucified, and hearing Him entrust her to John with the words, "Woman, behold your son" from John 19:26, illustrates that favour from God often accompanies great trials and tribulations.

I believe God chose Mary for this sacred role because He knew her heart—He knew she would respond with unwavering faith, as she declared in Luke 1:38, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." Mary didn't foresee the hardships she would endure, but she recognised that being called by God meant trusting in His will completely.

This idea is echoed in 2 Chronicles 16:9a, which says, "The Eternal watches everything that happens on earth so that He may strongly support those who follow Him…" God is continually searching for those who are willing to serve His purpose and trust Him through trials as well as blessings.

Would you want to be one of those people, like Mary, who places their faith in God, allowing Him to work through her? Remember, true faith in God is essential, as stated in Hebrews 11:6, "But without faith, it is impossible to please him..." Believing in Him and the sacrifice made on the cross is foundational because you cannot possibly please God unless you truly believe in Him. This belief and faith are what draw God’s favour and support, guiding us through both the blessings and the hardships of life.

The author of Hebrews encourages us to "…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us…" What is this sin? It's unbelief. By setting aside this hindrance, we are urged to "…run with patience the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1). This passage invites us not just to be saved by faith but to actively live by faith as well.

As we embrace living by faith, let's prepare our hearts to welcome God's visitation. God's presence can touch our lives directly or through His blessings, which are abundant and transformative. This year, get ready to witness and embrace these divine blessings. Position yourself to fully receive and revel in them. When God visits, He brings about positive changes, both spiritually and physically, making His promises a tangible reality in our lives. Let's open our hearts wide, anticipate great things, and allow God's transformative power to work through us, enhancing every aspect of our existence.