Scripture: Luke 1:46-66
God is a faithful God and He keeps His promises. Sometimes we might not see things happening according to our timing have to wait patiently, or impatiently at times, but God has His perfect timing, and He never forgets us!
God had promised that Israel and nations would be blessed through Abraham1, but it was a long wait from Abraham to Christ, through whom God’s promise would be completely fulfilled. It is not that God did not fulfill His promise througout generations in the past, but the greatest and complete fulfillment of His promise was to be accomplished through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. For that His people waited and waited. Though it felt long, He kept His promise!
And sometimes when we look at the condition or situation we are in, things might not look good from our point of view either, but remember God can always turn things around through Jesus Christ. God had promised that the kingdom of David would not end, but by the time of Joseph and Mary, there was no king in Israel; the kingdom of Judah had ended;2 and Israel was governed by the Romans. Yet concerning her future son, the angel said to Mary that “the Lord God shall give him the throne of David.”3
Then Mary recognized that the merciful God was fulfilling His promise to Abraham (vv. 54-55). Though the kingdom of David looked hopeless at that time, with God nothing was/is impossible! Thus with confirmation from her relative Elisabeth, Mary was filled with joy and sang the beautiful song of praise which we know today as The Magnificat.4 Mary understood that although things looked desperate from human point of view, God was certainly able to change things!
As we begin our celebration and remembrance of the birth of our Lord, may our heart also be filled with joy. May we remember that our Lord remembers His promise, and may we never forget that our God never forgets us.
May the joy and peace of our Lord be with you wherever you are!
For other articles in the Christmas series, please click this link: Christmas Series.
The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-66)5
46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me– holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”
(Luke 1:46-55 TNIV)
- see Genesis chapters 12 and 15. ↩
- Of course we believe that the promise of God will not fail, but at that point of history, Israel was not an independent nation, at least not politically. ↩
- Luke 1:32 ↩
- Luke 1:46-55; also known as The Song of Mary, or The Canticle of Mary. ↩
- Magnificat means great, and this song got this title because v. 46 says in the original Greek, “my soul makes/declares great the Lord” (Μεγαλύνει ἡ ψυχή μου τὸν κύριον). ↩