Believing Every Word
Devotion provided by Trinity United Church of Christ.
Luke 1:39-45
In this scripture, Mary, the mother of Jesus, has just received word from the angel Gabriel about her being blessed with the glory of birthing the “Son of the Most High.” She hurries to tell Elizabeth, and as she calls to her, the baby within Elizabeth’s womb starts to leap with joy and recognition. These two women, one thought barren, but now 6 months pregnant with the path maker, John the Baptist, and the other, a virgin, pregnant by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Through angels sent by God both women were promised miraculous births and those promises were being fulfilled. Interestingly, Elizabeth’s pregnancy “took away my disgrace among the people,” since producing children was critical to a woman’s status, and failing to provide them, a travesty. For Mary, the opposite could be said – having a child when her marriage was not yet consummated could itself bring a different and more devastating disgrace.
But God.
God makes promises, and more importantly, God keeps promises. As God’s children, we must have faith and trust God. We should be anticipating the positive outcomes that God has planned for us. An interesting reality is that by looking forward to something positive, by anticipating something positive, our bodies react. Research shows that just planning and anticipating, perhaps, a vacation, creates happiness, long before the actual event.
By knowing that God loves us and will see us through whatever challenges we face, just as we anticipate the birth of Jesus in this Advent season, let us anticipate positive outcomes to our challenges. We can feel better right now just knowing things will be better in the future. God is still in the miracle business.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for loving us and claiming us as Your children. Help us to grow ever stronger in our faith, such that we believe in our hearts that only the best will come, and our anticipation of that outcome will sustain our happiness and joy. Amen.
Thought for the Day: Plan something fun for your family and pay attention to how you feel as the activity date approaches.