Luke 1:45-55
This is somewhat of a follow-up post to my post on doubting (Luke1:11-20). We saw what happened to Zechariah when He doubted the Lord. Now we will see what happened when Mary had faith.
An angel came to Mary to tell her that she would have a son even though she was a virgin and she was to name him Jesus. Mary had faith and believed that this would happen. I’m not trying to bash on Zechariah here, but having a baby as a virgin seems a lot more difficult to believe than having a baby in old age. Anyway, while pregnant, Mary went to visit her relative Elizabeth who said this to her:
Luke 1:45
You are blessed, because you believed that the Lord would do what He said.
The interesting thing is the one who said this to Mary was Zechariah’s wife. Elizabeth was Mary’s relative (some versions say cousin) and the mother of John the Baptist. Both women were pregnant at the same time, and Elizabeth’s baby jumped for joy in her womb when he heard Mary’s voice. Elizabeth knew that Mary had trusted God in a way that her husband had not.
God will do what He says He will do. He is the only constant thing in our lives, the only one we can fully trust, fully depend on, because He will ALWAYS follow through with His promises. God fulfilled His promise to Zechariah, and He fulfilled His promise to Mary. The only difference is Mary had faith.
Now listen to Mary’s response. This is great.
Luke 1:46-55
46 Mary responded,
“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
49 For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
50 He shows mercy from generation to generation
to all who fear him.
51 His mighty arm has done tremendous things!
He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
52 He has brought down princes from their thrones
and exalted the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
54 He has helped his servant Israel
and remembered to be merciful.
55 For he made this promise to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
Wow. I absolutely LOVE how Mary takes none of the credit. She could have used this opportunity to lift herself up. We all like compliments, but instead she gives all the glory to God, which is how it should be. Her actions here are such a good example of how we should all be living.
Anything good that we do is only possible through God. He is the only good thing in this world, and He makes us good. It is not by our own strength that we do good works to produce fruit for God. It is only through Christ. What good is it to take all the credit for our actions? We don’t need to be rewarded here on Earth by men. Our treasure is in heaven. Heaven is where I want to receive my reward, not here. God is the one who deserves all the glory for anything we do. What a great way to help people get to know Him, too! It would be so much better if people associated the good things we do with God’s love instead of associating God with the hateful sins that Christians sometimes commit.
I know one thing I need to work on is not being proud of things I do in God’s name. Instead I need to learn to be more humble and realize Christ is the only reason that I am anything. I don’t want to be the one doing these works anyway. I want the Lord to do His work through me, and if He does, then there is no way I can take credit for it.
How have you been working on showing more faith in God and His promises? Are there things that you do that you like to take credit for when you know the credit belongs to God?
Posted on February 25, 2013, in Awesome and tagged awesome, Bible, bible verses, Book of Luke, Christ, Christianity, constant thing, doubt, example, Faith, glory, God, Gospel, Gospels, Jesus, Love, Luke, Mary, mother of Jesus, praise, scripture, servant, Spirituality, Zechariah. Bookmark the permalink. 7 Comments.
Hi Justme, This is a good thing you’re doing. Here’s a tip: Always “like” your own post and vote five starts yourself to get things rolling. Yours kindly, Mike
Awesome. I’m a new blogger, so I appreciate the advice!
God is the one who deserves all the glory for anything we do….Amen to that!
Preach it Sister! – Blessings – tim
It’s tough to humble ourselves and realize it is not through our own efforts that we have achieved something, that God was there. He made it happen. I’m learning to do this more. And one of the things that made this a bit easier for me is the realization I am truly nothing without God.
I recite those words Mary said every morning as a reminder of how Great the Lord is and how I am nothing, if not for His love.
Thanks for this. I was reflecting on humility today.
That’s awesome, M! Great thoughts on this! I totally agree with you that humility can be tough sometimes, but it’s a learning process. God can work on us every day if we let Him. What a great idea, to recite those words everyday
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