Rejoice

Mary has received the most amazing news. The long awaited, redeeming King is coming to save Israel. His body is being knit together in her womb. Her cousin Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Spirit, declares the great blessing that is now upon Mary and her growing baby. In her excitement, Mary opens her mouth to sing a beautiful song of praise to God, their deliverer. She sings with the great joy of generations of anticipation, that her soul, her entire being, glorifies the Lord, and she rejoices because of God her saviour. Do you think she maintained this level of single minded adoration for God through-out her un-wed pregnancy? Through the challenges of raising this boy-messiah? Through watching her son, her first born son, lifted high on the cross, for all to see him tortured to his final breath? I wonder if she was not so unlike us. If her life was filled with moments of elated praise and worship, as well as times of deep pain. Of questioning. Of despair. Why, God? Surely this can’t be part of your good plan? But consider, when she opened her mouth to praise the Lord for rescuing his people, it hadn’t happened yet. Jesus’ kingly reign, however she imagined that to look, was still many, many years away. And yet she was able to look ahead, from a promise that began all the way back in the Garden, to what was coming. And in that she found great joy. Life is full of challenges. And in every one of them you and I are presented with a choice. Will we fix our eyes on our circumstances, and be consumed by fear, pressure and desire for control? Or, will we look up. Will we fix our eyes, as Mary did in this moment, on the promise. On all that was fulfilled in the incredible life of our Servant-Saviour, purchasing our freedom from sin and death. On all he promises for our lives today, purifying his bride, helping her to see her sin for the destructive, evil that it is, and empowering her sanctification. On the promise of the day, the joyous day, when we will finally see him in the fullness of his glory, never to treasure anything less radiant again. The good news of all that Jesus has done, is doing and is yet to do is not something to be heard once then ticked off the to-do list. It is something that our frail, fleshly hearts need to be reminded of moment to moment, with every temptation to despair that arises. And when we do this, we will be able to join Mary, opening our mouths in joyous praise of God All-Powerful, no matter our circumstances.