My mom asked me to write a devotional for our home church’s Advent Devotional; I thought let me just drop a few lines here and there. I didn’t realize I was destined for a unique revelation. I read Luke 1:28-38 and observed Mary’s response to the angel’s declaration and thought it was sheer comedy how she responded and true to form of how we might respond in a similar situation. I thought it would be nice to post as we move toward Christmas and Transition into 2011-Let’s give God a (cash) advance on our Praise this holiday season.
Read this again and see if you get a laugh out of this as I did (this is two versions combined-the Message and NKJV Luke 1:28-30)“And having come in the angel said to her, Good Morning! Rejoice! Oh Highly Favored One. You’re Beautiful inside and out. God be with you. She was shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. She was troubled at his saying and considered what manner of greeting is this. But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. You have found favor with God.”
Have you ever been so conditioned for bad news and always prepared for the worst case scenario? Have you ever thought people always want something from you? Then, when someone comes to you with something nice or positive to say or perhaps even an encouraging word instead of receiving the compliment, you become defensive? You ask them, “So what are you trying to say? What’s the bottom line?”
I know that the recession has worn some of us down. We’ve lost more than we could have ever anticipated and there seems to not be any relief in sight. Our children continue to disappoint us and our spouses and families just seem like they don’t quite “get” how to love us right! We’ve endured all kinds of crises, injustice and surprises in 2010 that we were not sure we could recover from, and here is God with an announcement in the midst of it saying (Contemporary Vernacular) “You need to go buck wild and praise God like you are loosing your mind! Be exceedingly glad. Go ahead and shout! You wonder why? Isn’t it obvious you are the favored one above all people? God is certainly with you, with yo’ fine self! You da bomb! Go for it! I got ya back.” Now, imagine if you were in the middle of your trouble and heard something like that. You can see from your reaction to that statement why Mary gave the response that she did. See, you’ve prepared yourself for the worst that can happen, but God has some better news for you.
God has an amazing way of leading into big announcements with a command to praise Him before you even know the outcome! God does this because he is attempting to build your faith and your courage. And He is saying to you that your process (like Mary’s 9 months of child bearing and all of the discomforts of pregnancy) may take a lot out of you, but if you can begin glorifying God now, developing the habit of praise on the front end, you will find the way to go through it. Sometimes we need to praise on the front end so that when we go through the difficult times we can always “RECALL” that our God is greater than anything that could stand against us.
Our expectation builds when we praise because we are reminded that nothing is impossible with our God. And praise must always precede the manifestation of blessing and breakthrough; in other words you don’t always have to wait for it to show up before you thank God for it. Before God gives you the assignment that you have to carry out, He always gives you the “good news” first. It’s not that He’s being deceitful. He just knows that if He can get you to adore Him and see how awesome He is in your praise, your faith will increase and there is nothing that you won’t endure for Him. That you will place no restrictions on Him and no barrier can keep you from Him. And when you praise your answer will always be Yes because He’s irresistible like that.
Come back to the WOR-zone for the conclusion on ‘Praise in Advance’ next week.
I never thought about how my mental preparation for the worse that can happen when given an opportunity or given a compliment crosses over into how I react to God when He speaks to me…
@ Yvette…very keen insight: I never thought about that either. That’s an excellent point. Because Mary’s fear colors the entire greeting of the angel. Great point.
Cory, You have such a way of putting things into perspective. I thank
God for you! “Praise in the Bank” That’s my new motto. Just as we store away monies for that “Rainy Day”, Imagine if we had a bank filled with praise….when the trials come….I am already praising….Man,,,This is awesome. Thanks!
@ Carla…big hug! Thank you for that great compliment-I’m adding that to my soul’s resume-I have a way of putting things in perspective. That’s grace. I like your adaptation- Praise in the Bank (singing like Money in the Bank)…That’s a great insight. Thanks for sharing with us.
Min. Bradley , I have never looked at this passage this way ,and yea , you always think that there is something more after a compliment such as that one, but God. We must also remember that in the midst of our circumstance, trial, pitty party..We must acknowledge HIM…Praise will always get us through..REJOICE and be exceedingly glad.!!! Awesome revlation bruh..
@ Ray, hey bro! Thanks for stopping by the zone. Thanks for that insight…there is always something more after a compliment, it’s like God its like the beautiful SET-UP! May today be filled with a revelation of His great announcement about you!
I read the encounter again, and it really had a humorous flavor to it. I see were Mary was troubled,this is a whole new concept that a virgin could have a baby.Mary you have found favor with THE MOST HIGH GOD. What a tribute I don’t know if we could ever prepare for such an event. Praising God on the front end sets your spirit for all that joy thats coming to you!!!! I often ask myself about if that could of been me ( Mary) .Not bragging on myself, but it was a possibility in my heart!!.WE should live like ” I’ll take An Advance On My Praise”.You are thought provoking sir!!!!!!
@ Juanita…LOL@ if that could’ve been me…Well you go ahead Mary Rhodes…Thanks for sharing the thought with us.
Cory you made me laugh at myself!!! I do thank God for this avenue of communication, that you have opened up!!!!