Not like a bull in a china shop!

Good morning! My name is Charlotte and I am writing to help us give our first thoughts to the Lord.

Luke 1 starting with verse 26 says this:

And in the sixth month (Elisabeth's sixth month) the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused (engaged) to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, you are highly favored, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women.

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 you have found favor with God. And, behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God.

And, behold, your cousin Elisabeth, she has also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

For with God nothing shall be impossible.

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to your word. And the angel departed from her.

Can you imagine? Mary was a young woman. Some commentaries say that she was about 15 years old. That is my granddaughters age - just a young teenage girl. She, like Zacharias and Elisabeth, lived for God. Mary must have been one of those teenage girl's that at this age didn't have an attitude. Most girl's do at 15, but there was something different about Mary. Something so much different that God noticed.

The angel had said that she had found favor with God. What attribute would she have that God would favor her?

According to I Peter 3:4 which says But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

So, from this we can say that it was not necessarily her outward appearance that had found her favor with God. It was inner beauty. From the inside out.

There is nothing more beautiful than seeing a young woman who is beautiful on the inside, because the beauty on the inside flows to the outside and makes her beautiful even though she might be plain.

A meek and quiet spirit - this is something that makes us of great price to God.

Proverbs 3:3-4 says Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about your neck, write them upon the table of your heart: So shall you find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

Proverbs 8:35 says for whoso finds me (wisdom) finds life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord.

Proverbs 31:30 says Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain: but a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

So, some of the attributes that Mary might have had to find favor with God are:

1. A meek, humble, gentle, quiet spirit,
2. Full of mercy and compassion,
3. Living truthful, not just before men but before God,
4. Not being deceitful or dishonest,
5. Using wisdom in making her decisions
5. She was pure (she was engaged but a virgin)
6. and most of all having a good, healthy fear of the Lord (this alone keeps us straight sometimes.)

These are some of the attributes that Mary must have had to find favor with God.

David was considered a friend of God. The outstanding feature of David was his honesty before God. He made a lot of mistakes, but he always laid everything out on the table before God.

Mary must have had this truthful attribute, and adding to truth, a meek and quiet spirit full of mercy and compassion for her fellow man and fear of the Lord.

One thing I did find was in Proverbs 8 13-14 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth do I hate - so we have to assume from this that Mary's inner man was not prideful and not arrogant, and was not evil. And she watched her mouth - a gentle and quiet spirit.

Although Mary must have been a wonderful pattern for young women to follow, she was not intended to be worshipped or prayed to. She was a young woman who found favor with God - so much so that God chose her to become the mother of the Messiah, Jesus, with God as His Father.

Just like Zacharias and Elisabeth, she was righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

What a wonderful pattern for us to look to in our lives.

Lord, we want to find favor with You. Lead us and develop in us the attributes you found favor with in Mary. Let us be truthful and honest with a quiet and gentle spirit instead of like a bull in a china shop. In Jesus name we pray. Amen (it is done)

Have a blessed day today!

Charlotte