Morning by Morning, December 10, 2025 — Mary’s Heart of Faith that Said Yes as the Highly Favored One
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Your name be exalted, You’re fame be extended. ...
“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).
Why was Mary the “highly favored one”?
“The Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
What the Lord saw in Mary’s heart was someone who would say yes in faith. Someone whose outward appearance would be seen by community and culture as unworthy, unsuitable, undeserving. Just a girl, just a teenager, just an unwed mother, just (fill in the blank of any other reason why anybody else in the world would have been more worthy, more suitable more deserving).
Yes, God is sovereign. Yes, God sees the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end. And yes, our choices are real. Because a real relationship of love with God means we must have the freedom to love Him or not, to obey Him or not, to say yes to Him or not.
Though God’s sovereignty is real, though our choices are real, though God already knows, God has already eternally known every choice we’ll ever make, in the freedom that a real relationship of love requires, God still sets before us the choice of life or death, blessing or curse, yes or no.
And Mary’s choice would be yes. Mary’s heart of faith would be yes.
When God looked and listened from all eternity into the heart of this young girl named Mary, what He heard was a heart that chose, Yes, Lord. “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
With that heart, Mary would be the “highly favored one.” Mary would be the one—despite all the reasons why the world that would look at her outward appearance to say anyone other than this one would be more worthy, more suitable, more deserving—chosen by God the Father to bring forth God the Son by the conception of God the Holy Spirit in her human womb to the Savior of the world.
We don’t worship Mary. We don’t pray to Mary. Mary’s not our co-redemptrix, c0-savior, or co-anything else that would make her equal or greater than Jesus. But we do honor her. And we do honor her heart of faith to say yes, Lord, no matter what people might think or say or judge.
As I remember Mary this morning, here in the season we celebrate the birth of Jesus, may You give me the grace You gave Mary to say “Yes, Lord. Behold Your servant. Let it be so to me according to Your word.” In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today. In the love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My friend, may your heart be full of faith to say Yes, Lord, to His requests as He looks at your heart, as best as you can and all by God's grace, in Jesus' name. God bless you, my friend! And you have a great day!
