(From the heart of Jincy Gibson)

There is a joy in announcement.

We long to celebrate that which we anticipate. What I love about announcement is that it was actually God’s idea… to announce and share the goodness of the Father with one another.

Jesus’s birth announcement came from voice of an angel named Gabriel.

The first two sentences Gabriel speaks are incredibly simple, complex, yet profound.

Luke 1 tells us that Gabriel finds Mary and says to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.”

God’s favor extends to us, believers of Jesus walking out our stories of both brokenness and restoration. I have learned in my own story that the favor of God does not exclude failures and fall downs. In fact, the favor of God depends on our ability to trip… and then trust in His kindness.

We must choose to trust in His favor even when we don’t necessarily feel favored. Feeling favored is not a prerequisite for actually being favored.

In my life, I have learned to seek His favor in the depths of dark depression as well as times of transparent joy. When I run after His favor, He provides it. Every. Single. Time.

The most beautiful display of God’s favor for me has been a decade of learning how to be both a human and heavenly daughter. Through spiritual adoption, God has provided a heritage of hope through the heart of a mom, a dad, and four siblings. I’m not an orphan anymore… I have a place to land, a place to belong, and a place to be unconditionally loved and accepted by human people who host the very heartbeat of God.

This Advent season, I celebrate God’s favor through the gift of a family.  Where do you see God’s favor in your own life? I cordially invite you to join me in a divine celebration.

My prayer for y’all from this moment on is that you encounter a very real favor that sustains the deepest of joys and heals the deepest of wounds.