Advent: When God Interrupts Your Story
Part 2: Blessed & Highly Favored
Advent and Christmas Is All About God Interrupting Your Story! If you let Him, God will Interrupt Your Story and replace it with something so much better.
Perhaps the greatest Interruption of all time is found in Luke 1:26-38:
“26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”
38 Then Mary said, “I am the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”
3 Ways God Interrupts Your Story:
1) He Interrupts Our
With His
Luke 1:28 “…the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” Mary’s life was forever changed when the angel Gabriel announced she would give birth to Jesus. As a young woman with an ordinary life, she did not foresee her divine calling. This Interruption reflects the awesomeness of God’s calling and how He Interrupts our plans with His purpose. His purposes are so much better than our plans. But God’s Interruptions are not Impositions, and so He invites our Response.
Mary’s response was this: “I am the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” WOW! This embodies faith, surrender, and humility. Despite the challenges she would face as an unwed mother, her surrender to God’s will demonstrates courage and trust in His divine purposes over her own life plans.
Mary’s journey is a powerful example of how God Interrupts The Ordinary of Your Story. Her example of surrender to God’s purpose gives us a path to follow. It reminds us of the importance of faith, obedience, and being open to
the extraordinary ways that God Interrupts The Ordinary of Your Story to bring about His Purpose.
God Interrupts Your Story When He Replaces Your Plans With His Purpose. And when God Interrupts Your
Story, it reminds us that He Rewards Faithfulness! Why was she so highly favored, while countless others were not? Because Luke 1 says that she was the Lord’s servant (v.38), was obedient (v.38), and humble (v.48). She was a faithful, obedient and humble servant of the Lord. God rewarded her faithfulness. So, don’t be discouraged in well-doing. Be faithful and God will reward.
3 Things God Rewards:
1. God Rewards Generosity Malachi 3:6-12; Luke 6:38
2. God Rewards Perseverance Hebrews 6:12; Galatians 6:7-9
3. God Rewards Faithfulness Hebrews 11:6
2) He Interrupts Our Relational
With His Relational
Matthew 1:18-25:
“ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”
There was a fracture in the relationship between Mary and Joseph. But as Joseph considered this, an angel spoke to him and revealed that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. So their Relational Breakdown was Interrupted By God’s Relational Breakthrough: the connection was restored, and the fracture was mended.
So Why Does God Care About Interrupting Our Relational Breakdowns With Relational Breakthroughs? Because relationships are key to our health:
1. Stronger Relationships Reduce Your Mortality Risk,
2. Loneliness Increases Your Health Risks,
3. Relationships Enhance Your Mental Health, and
4. Relationships Improve Your Recovery from Illness
When God Interrupts Your Story, He Mends The Fractures that keep us apart and brings us together. He is the Prince of Peace! Jesus breaks down dividing walls of race, class, gender, and culture Galatians 3:26-29. Proverbs 16:7 “When people’s lives please the LORD, even their enemies are at peace with them.”
3) He Interrupts Our
and Frustrations With His
and Fruitfulness
Luke 1:5-80 Imagine the frustration and feeling of failure experienced by Zechariah and Elizabeth. But God Interrupted Their Story of Failure and Frustration With His Favor and Fruitfulness:
o v.7 “…they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old…”
o v.25 God took away the shame of barrenness – “The Lord has done this for me… He has shown His favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
o v.36-37 “Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God…”
o v.57,58 - “When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy…”
So many times, we look at the barrenness and deficiencies and inadequacies of our lives and feel powerless. But God Interrupts Our Story of Failure and Frustration With His Favor and Fruitfulness!
The Lord takes our barren lives, barren homes, barren communities, barren finances, barren health, and barren nation, and brings favor and fruitfulness!
You Are:
1. Chosen John 15:16
2. Worthy Ephesians 2:1-6
3. Rescued Colossians 1:13
4. Free John 8:30-32
5. Empowered Deuteronomy 8:17-18
6. Guaranteed Jeremiah 29:11-13; Romans 8:28
7. Adopted I John 3:1
8. Never Alone John 15:15
9. Transformed 2 Corinthians 5:17
10. Righteous 2 Corinthians 5:21
11. Winning Romans 8:35-39
12. A Work Of Art Ephesians 2:10
13. Divinely Designed Psalm 139:13-18
14. Beloved Ephesians 1:3-14
15. Blessed and Highly Favored Luke 1:28; Psalm 84:4
- All scripture is from the New International Version unless noted otherwise. *