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“The angel Gabriel
was sent by God
to a town in Galilee
called Nazareth…”
Luke 1:26

You might be surprised by this but It’s actually a bit of an insult to call someone an angel since angels are not human.

I would rather be called a human since that is what I am. Human is what I was created to be.

But I hope I am always ready to listen to anyone who (like an angel) delivers a personal message from God to me.

It is usual in a scriptural account of the appearance of an angel for the messenger to speak first encouraging a person to not be afraid. This is because sadly we don’t live in constant and ready expectation of hearing Jesus speak to us. Therefore when it does happen, when God does speak, we can be a bit shaken and doubt the divine origin of the communication I have received.

Gabriel greets Mary warmly: “Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.” The conversation continued with Mary able to honestly express her confusion as she pondered the meaning and the message of the visit.

It’s helpful to remember that every message from God, whoever or whatever the messenger, is for our good.

The one who desires to live in relationship with Christ will not only live with a lively expectancy of hearing Jesus speak, but welcome even the most unlikely or unexpected messenger at any hour of the day or night.

You might like to…

• make a decision to live the next 24 hours in lively expectancy of hearing Jesus speak to you, especially through unlikely messengers (both people and events).
• If you sense that Jesus has spoken to you but are unsure, ask Jesus to make the message even clearer.