Fear Not. You Have Found Favor

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. 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. (Luke 1:29-33)

The first thing Mary felt when Gabriel appeared was fear. She was troubled and trying to understand what kind of greeting this was. The angel's response to her fear was not a rebuke but reassurance: “Fear not. You have found favor with God.”

That is still how God operates. When He is about to move in your life in a way you cannot fully understand, sometimes fear is the first emotion that appears in our soul. The size of the task makes us question whether we are capable of completing it. The weight of what God is asking you to carry can make you feel overwhelmed by its magnitude. And God would tell you the same thing He sent an angel to tell Mary: "Fear not. You have found favor.”

Favor means that God is with you in it — not watching from afar or hoping it works out, but truly with you. “The Lord is with thee,” Gabriel said. That shifts everything. When God is with you in something, the idea of impossibility no longer matters.

Mary was told she would conceive a child as a virgin, that the child would be the Son of God, that His kingdom would never end, and that He would sit on the throne of David forever. That is an enormous thing to hear on an ordinary day in Nazareth. Fear was understandable. But the favor was greater than the fear.

Whatever God has placed in front of you, whether it's an assignment, a challenge, or a promise that seems too big, His favor is greater than your fear.

Practical Application

Recognize the area in your life where fear outweighs faith. Declare this over it today: "Fear not. I have found favor with God. The Lord is with me." Repeat it until you believe it. Favor does not wait for fear to disappear. It simply becomes louder.

Luke 1;12; Judges 6:13