And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
I'm thankful the Word is alive..just what I need right at the perfect moment. Last Sunday night my brother Josh preached his first message at church. It was an answered prayer and a blessing to see and know his story of how God brought him to where he is today. I thought about what Mary said in Luke 1:49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. How true that verse is! But often it doesn't feel like "great things". As I was reading in Luke tonight I noticed one little word in verse 48. ~~{{Low.}}~~ Sometimes the small words get over looked but they usually have great meaning. Mary said the Lord hath regarded her low estate.
As I think about the context and where she was at this time I wonder if she had been low. I wonder if she had been down and out before the angel appeared to her with the great news of our Saviour. I wonder if she too battled with her self worth and identity like I often do. I wonder if she battled with wondering if she had a purpose and what her future might hold. Maybe she was just speaking humbly to Elisabeth but tonight as I myself am struggling I hope she had been just what the word says; low. Maybe that sounds bad to wish another to be down, but if she really was low (before) then it gives me hope and encouragement because in just a few short months she was no longer low but she was rejoicing. The night the angel appeared to her, Mary was troubled and fearful. He gave her a word and a promise, nothing more (Luke 1: 28-35). Can you imagine? Some might say God interrupted her life, but I say He changed her life. The critics criticized, the gossipers gossiped, and of course the haters hated. She was given a tough set of circumstances but she was changed through it.
I know Mary must have been special for God to use her to bring forth Jesus (Luke 1:31), but I wonder who she was BEFORE. Who was she before her sole purpose was for Christ? Who was she before she made it all about HIM? We know the Bible tells us, There is none righteous, no, not one -Romans 3:10. So that lets me know she had faults, failures and weaknesses too. Sometimes it helps me to remember the people I read about in scripture are human just like me. Mary was a woman, same as me. She had bad hair days, heavy burdens, and at times tear stains on her pillow. I bet she'd had a few broken hearts and maybe even broken some herself. She had been a bad friend, made the wrong choice, done her own thing a time or two. She was a sinner like us all. She had days where she was selfish, jealous, lazy, and obnoxious. Days where she just wanted to quit. But she didn't. She held on through the low times and in due time she became the masterpiece God wanted.
We might not be perfect tonight but we can be willing. Willing to change. Willing to allow God to perform an AFTER in our hearts. He knows and sees our struggles. When we humble ourselves and our will to please the Father we will have a rejoicing heart no matter the circumstances we face.
I want to take a look at Mary's AFTER. A few months later In verses 46,and 47 she says, "My soul doth magnify the Lord." And, "my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour."
Think about that. Who was magnified? The Lord. Who did she rejoice in? The Lord her Saviour. She had joy because the Lord was in his rightful place in her heart. No longer was her heart low and depressed. When we are low, we get self minded, self focused, self indulged. We don't see clearly. We just see our problems. The result is just plain selfishness. Selfishness leads to other things such as, being discontent, jealousy, vanity, and worst of all we can't love others or Jesus right.
I am tired of being Low. It's time to Magnify the Name of Jesus. It's not about me, it's about HIM. He is my reason to live. He is my identity. He is my purpose. He is all I need. I must Focus on his Holy Name. He's done great things and is worthy to be praised! It's time to make much of Jesus. The AFTER can be different than the BEFORE
**I am in no way trying to put Mary down nor accuse her. She was righteous and pure and chosen by God..just a thought about how God changed her through this amazing miracle of Jesus. She was not perfect and she did sin. Wanted to add this before I get a lot of negative comments ;) **
