Heart and Soul Luke 1:44-50

“‘As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!’ And Mary said, ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations shall call me blessed for the Mighty One has done great things for me--holy is his name.” (Luke 1:44-50) NIV

Random Thoughts:

There is such overwhelming joy when we fully surrender to God’s will for our lives, to give in to that gift He has prepared for us and designed uniquely for His purpose. When we say “yes” to His call, it delights our hearts even though it may also frighten us or overwhelm us to take on that task. Each of us has a unique heart design that beats all-the-faster when we give it permission to respond to its intended purpose. Mary’s faithful response to God’s call certainly blessed her heart, her soul and her spirit.  

When Jesus later teaches “blessed are those who believe yet have not seen”, he is stating a truth about the nature of a fully trusting faith. Those, like Mary, who can embrace God’s promises, surrender to His call and step out in obedience experience a freedom of spirit and joy. She and Elizabeth seem giddy with it! They are filled with joy; they are filled with God’s promise. Literally and figuratively.

And perhaps most amazing to Mary--and hopefully to us--is not even that God is about to restore what was lost long ago in the garden of Genesis, but that He is bringing humanity’s greatest gift through her. God our Savior, the Mighty One is “mindful of the humble state of his servant”. The Ruler of the Universe is mindful of a young girl--just as He is mindful of us, knows us and has a cherished purpose for us--this kind of God is beyond belief. This kind of God knows every sparrow, every hair on our heads. This kind of love brings us to our knees in gratitude for the great things He has done. How blessed we are, then, to answer when He calls us. “Holy is His name”.

Question:

Is there a task or an issue that makes your heart beat faster when you think about it? A passion you experience when you perform a certain job or subject that resonates with your heart? Where do you need to trust God’s call and give in to the blessing He has in store for you?

Journal Response:

The first time I read Blackaby’s study, “Experiencing God” was the first time I learned that God’s plan for my life was not just to do those things that needed to be done. Yes, I needed to help in the nursery (anyway, I have a weakness for pudgy little toes); yes, it was good to teach the 4-year-olds about Noah or that his camels are not projectiles; and yes, it was fun at times to lead the pre-teens in all-things-loud, chaotic, and mostly Christ-centered. 

But there has long been a part of me that literally resonates and hums, filling me with energy when I think about it. It’s discipleship. I’m mad about it. I love to talk with others--young or old believers, I don’t care--about who Christ is, why He matters and how we can be changed because of Him. I love to talk about Heaven and to wonder and marvel about the fact that it really is our Home. It really is where we are meant to be. And I love to try and make sense of God’s scriptures (even though I won’t fully ‘get it’ until God Himself can answer my many questions beginning with my favorite word: Why?). 

But as much as being involved with discipleship floats my proverbial boat, it also scares me to say “yes” to God’s call. It is sometimes frightening, uncomfortable or downright disappointing when others don’t stand up and cheer, declaring my words of wisdom as spoken from “on high”. --Yes, hard to believe, but true.

Frankly, this discipleship thing doesn’t always look like I think it should. I think that happens to us a lot. Mary had no idea her savior was being born for the purpose of dying. I’m sure his life did not take the shape she thought it would. My father-in-law answered the call to start an integrated church in south Georgia. It failed. But what God did start was something better: entire churches, white and black, coming together in community to serve together for the first time in their history. In the end, it isn’t always understanding the “why” or the “how” but simply saying the “yes” that matters. And there is joy, even so, in that. Thanks be to God.