Daily Devotions – December 16, 2021
Luke 1:39-55
39In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
46And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
“Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the
Lord.†(Luke 1:45)
“I am so blessed!†How many times have we said this? Probably not as many times as we should! Was
Mary blessed? Think about the difficulties of her situation, and decide. Especially since sometimes
it is difficult for us, perhaps even for Mary, to see beyond present events and imagine that there
could be any blessing in them. But God’s blessings transcend our present concerns— these blessings are forever! May we have the  faith that Mary had, to look beyond our current situation to see and trust the goodness and faithfulness of God and God’s promises for us.
Prayer: Dear God, give us such faith as Mary had so that we, too, might see the fulfilment of your Word in our lives and in our world. Amen.