Bible in a Year - Women’s Thematic Reading Plan | Day 65

Day 65 of the Women’s Bible Plan: Read Luke 1:26-38 and reflect on Mary, the young woman who received God’s extraordinary calling with humility and faith. Through the angel’s message and Mary’s response, this devotional helps women learn how to answer God’s call when the path is unclear, the future is uncertain, and obedience may come with a cost. 

🌸  Dear Sister, welcome to Day 65 of our reading journey. 

Some callings come into our lives without a full explanation, a clear map, or a result we can control. They may interrupt our peaceful plans. They may place us before a future we cannot fully understand. They may even bring the weight of other people’s misunderstanding and the quiet fears we carry in our own hearts.

Mary met God’s calling in just such a moment. She was a young woman in Nazareth, espoused to Joseph, and her life seemed to be moving toward an ordinary and settled future. Yet the angel Gabriel came to her and announced a message that would shake heaven and earth: she would conceive and bear a son, and He would be called the Son of the Highest.

This was not an easy calling to receive. Mary did not fully understand how everything would happen. She did not know what misunderstanding, pressure, or cost might come with the future. Yet she did not reject God’s word out of fear, nor did she demand to know every answer before she obeyed. In her amazement and questions, she entrusted herself to the word of the Lord.

A Minute of Grace

Luke 1:26-38 records that the angel Gabriel was sent by God to Nazareth, a city of Galilee, to bring a message to the virgin Mary. The angel greeted her as one who was “highly favoured” and told her that the Lord was with her. When Mary heard this greeting, she was troubled and wondered what manner of salutation this could be.

The angel then told her not to fear, because she had found favour with God. She would conceive and bring forth a son, and His name would be called Jesus. He would be great, He would be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God would give Him the throne of His father David. He would reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of His kingdom there would be no end. Mary did not understand how this could happen, since she was not yet married. The angel answered that the Holy Ghost would come upon her, and the power of the Highest would overshadow her. Therefore, the holy child to be born would be called the Son of God.

Mary’s greatness does not lie in the fact that she understood everything from the beginning, nor in the fact that she felt no fear. Scripture clearly shows us that she was troubled, she pondered, and she asked a question. Yet she did not remain trapped in fear or confusion. She heard God’s word and believed that with God nothing would be impossible. Then she answered with humble and powerful faith: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”

From the perspective of “Women in the Bible,” Mary’s story is deeply precious. She was not chosen because she held a powerful position, nor did she obey because she had mastered the future. She was a woman willing to humble herself before God and yield to His will. Her obedience was not passive weakness, but deep faith. Her humility was not the loss of herself, but the surrender of herself to God’s greater purpose.

Today’s theme, “Mary: A Woman Highly Favoured,” invites us to reflect: When God’s call comes to us, interrupts our plans, opens an unknown road, and requires a response of faith, are we willing to say with Mary, “Lord, be it unto me according to thy word”?

Whispers for the Heart

1 The angel called Mary “highly favoured,” but this favour did not mean that her path would become easy and free from trouble. It meant she would receive a calling beyond imagination. How do you understand God’s favour? Have you ever assumed that being favoured means everything will go smoothly, while forgetting that favour can also mean being entrusted, shaped, and brought into God’s greater plan?

2 Mary was troubled when she heard the angel’s greeting, and she asked honestly, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” When you face God’s leading, do you also have questions, fears, or things you do not understand? How does this passage remind you that honest questions are not always unbelief? The key is whether we bring our questions before God and keep listening to His word.

3 Mary finally said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” Is there an area in your life right now where you need this humble response? Perhaps it is marriage, family, ministry, work, future direction, or a calling you do not yet fully understand. Are you willing to surrender control to God and trust that His word is more reliable than your own plans?

As you read Luke 1:26-38 today, do not see Mary only as a figure in the Christmas story. Let her life remind you that God values a heart that is humble, open, and willing to obey. True favour is not only being blessed by God, but also being called by God to take part in His wondrous work.

Take a quiet breath before you begin. Bring your fears, questions, plans, hopes, and future before the Lord, and let His Word meet you there.

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Luke 1:26-38 (KJV) 

26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.

32 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:

33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

💡 Closing Thought · Be It unto Me According to Thy Word 

After reading Luke 1:26-38, we see that Mary’s obedience was not an easy response, nor a response without questions. She was troubled. She pondered. She asked. Yet in the end, she placed herself under the word of God. She did not possess every answer, but she trusted the God who called her.

As we close this page and return to our daily lives, perhaps God is also calling you in some area today: to be more faithful in your family, more honest in a relationship, more courageous in service, or more trusting about the road ahead. Perhaps you still do not fully understand. Perhaps you still fear the cost. But remember this: obedience does not begin because we can see every result. It begins because we know the Lord who leads us.

May today’s Scripture remind you that being favoured does not mean being placed on a road without challenges. It means receiving God’s calling in the presence of God. May you answer Him with a humble and courageous heart: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”

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