Luke 1: 29-31 (KJV) And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.
Sweet is the savoring of a word from God. It heals the ache and lifts the heavy, It sings for joy and raises hands high. It cradles a tired soul with its reassuring love song... Zephaniah 3:17 (KJV) The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing."
How we long for the comforts of his voice.
Mary was troubled. If God sends an angel from Heaven to personally deliver a message, the reason MUST be grand. He knew Mary would be worried, thus the angel immediately said "Fear not, Mary:"
Imagine if every time you were afraid God sent an angel to remind you to fear not?" Would you stand a little taller or walk with a bit more confidence? Would you rest assured? Would you sleep in the haven of perfect love? God didn't send a note. He didn't provide a dream. He sent an angel face-to-face. Is that not profound?
How quickly we forget. We worry. We fear. We tie knots in our guts and sweat over insignificance. It would, after all, be quite nice to have an angel to tell us everything will be okay. But take a look at the message from Gabriel. We have BETTER. God sent Gabriel to Mary, not only to deliver a message, but a message that promised God would deliver a SAVIOR - "A Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)
Our Lord came down with a message SO great, He came as flesh - lowly and true. From the beginning, God has commanded "Do not be afraid" He tells Abram in Genesis 15:3 "Do not be afraid," and repeats the same command over and over. You will find it throughout Genesis. You will hear it in Exodus 14:33 "Do not be afraid. Stand firm..." You will read it throughout Deuteronomy and on to Joshua 1:9 "...Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." A brief bible search will show this reassurance again and again. It can be found in the New Testament in John 6:20, "But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid."
And why? 1 John 4:18 and John 3:16 tells us.
"...perfect love casteth out fear..."
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Lord,
let us take a moment in gratitude for all you have done for us, for all you have given us and let us thank you for saving us. We, Lord, are in need of saving. We can't do this on our own. May we always seek your presence with open hearts and eyes. May we always remember your sacrifice. May we always remember your love.
I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.