Day 11 – A Great God

“And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
   For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
   and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
   from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
   he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
   and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
   and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
   in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
   to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

~ Luke 1:46-55

Yesterday we took a look at the faith Mary had in response to the news of her pregnancy with complete trust in the Lord and in His plan. While fear abounded, Mary rested in her faithful God.

Here in Luke 1, Mary continues to respond to God in such a beautiful way – she worships. While she is certainly overwhelmed that God has chosen her to bear the Savior of the world, we also see that she is overwhelmed with His goodness. He is beginning to fulfill all of His promises from long ago. He is bringing salvation to the world and Mary gets a front row seat to it all.

This song that she offers to God in praise is one of the most beautiful songs that we see in all of the New Testament. Her joy comes from the Lord even as she is a woman who comes from a lowly state. She exalts His holiness, His mercy and His might. She draws on Old Testament prophecies from Isaiah 59 (“shown strength with His arm”) and from Genesis 17 (Abrahamic covenant). Her humble song is one that we ought to take note of today.

Take some time today to offer praise to God. Exalt His character and works that He has revealed in Scripture. Also take time to praise His power and His presence in your life.

Days like today, and everyday, are ones that we ought to praise our great God simply because of who He is.

Prayer

Take a few minutes to praise God. Maybe get time to yourself where you can, like Mary, sing your own song of praise to God. Then take time to pray that you will see God’s presence and power in your life on a daily basis.