“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph…And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou art highly favored; the Lord is with thee…Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God” (Luke 1:26-28, 30).

In the last few days we have read the account of the angel telling Joseph to “fear not.” Earlier the angel had also told Mary to “fear not.” Imagine what this young teenage girl must have thought and experienced when suddenly Gabriel appeared to her. While the text doesn’t declare this, we can well imagine that she was excited about her engagement to Joseph. As a young Jewish lady, she probably dreamed of her marriage, her hopes for children, her future home, and the determination she had she continued to demonstrate her devotion to Joseph. She would keep herself true and honorable to the young man to whom she was pledged. God was going to do something that would be incredible. She was the recipient of God’s great grace that would propel her into a situation of which she had never dreamed! Let me ask you a personal question. What has been the direction of your life because of the grace of God?

For today: There are many things that could cause me to be fearful. I need to keep my eyes on the Lord today. How about you?