Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” (Luke 1:26-28, NKJV).
Holy God, we give You the honor, glory, and praise for loving us enough to send Your One and Only Son to redeem us. During this season may our hearts be filled to overflowing with love and gratitude to You. This is my prayer in in the name of Jesus the Messiah. Amen.
For the next few days leading up to Christmas we will be looking at different aspects of the birth of Jesus Christ. We will search for lessons that can be applied to our own lives for the glory of God. My prayer is that after the season is past, you and Jesus Christ will become best friends! For those who are already best friends with Him, may the friendship grow “sweeter as the days go by.”
One truth that I have come to recognize and accept is that although God is the Author of time, and therefore is not subject to, or controlled by, time – nevertheless He does act within the boundaries of time. We read in Galatians 4:4: “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” (Emphasis provided).
Therefore, in the sixth month God sent the angel Gabriel to share heaven’s plan of salvation with an innocent young lady by the name of Mary. What a honor was to be bestowed upon her! What a privilege! She had been chosen to become the mother of Heaven’s ruling Prince – the King of kings and Lord of lords! The Sovereign of the universe!
When she heard the reason for the angel’s visit she was astonished: Bring forth a child? How can this be? I am a virgin! But the angel hastens to explain: “This conception is not of human origin; this will be the work of the ‘Holy Spirit’ and the ‘Highest’ – for the ‘Holy One’ that you will bring forth is none other than the ‘Son of God!’ And the time has come for the God-man child to be conceived in the womb of a mortal – a minority – a maiden – by the name of Mary.
In the “fullness of [God’s] time” miracles take place. New things are brought forth, like rivers in the desert, and dry paths in the midst of the sea. In the fullness of His time God opens doors that no one can close and closes doors that no one can open. Wonderful things take place in Gods time. So do not be afraid to wait on God. He is never late, and you will never regret that you let go and allowed things to happen in His time!