Blessed For Believing: Luke 1:39-56

As we move further into our first year chronologically moving through the gospels, we come to a powerful event that contrasts a huge truth that we all face at one point or another. Similar to our last episode, this truth has a lot to do with faith and doubt.

It might be because of my personality, or an unhealthy level of skepticism, but I find myself often doubting the truth of something I read or hear more than simply accepting it. The broad context of our passage for this episode centers around Mary learning about Elizabeth’s pregnancy, and traveling to see her.

Leading up to this point, Luke has described how Zechariah doubted the angel and was struck mute for his lack of belief, and shortly afterwards, Mary is visited by the same angel and believes the angel’s promise to her.

Our passage for this episode is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 1, and we will read it using the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 39, Luke tells us that:

³⁹ Soon afterward, Mary hurried to a city in the mountain region of Judah. ⁴⁰ She entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.

⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard the greeting, she felt the baby kick. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² She said in a loud voice, “You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the child that you will have. ⁴³ I feel blessed that the mother of my Lord is visiting me. ⁴⁴ As soon as I heard your greeting, I felt the baby jump for joy. ⁴⁵ You are blessed for believing that the Lord would keep his promise to you.”

Let’s stop reading here. While we could continue reading and focus on things we can discover in Mary’s song of praise, what Elizabeth just finished saying is too important to skip over. In this passage, Elizabeth finishes in verse 45 by telling Mary: “You are blessed for believing that the Lord would keep his promise to you.”

These are Elizabeth’s words to Mary.

In this short phrase, we see a glimpse into the contrast between these two women and their respective husbands (in Mary’s case, husband-to-be).

With how Elizabeth phrases this statement, she is both commending Mary for her faith, and admitting the doubt that Zechariah (and she) had when being given the message. She was currently living with a mute husband because of his doubt, and had it not been for the significant shift in his speech ability, she probably would have doubted too.

Mary, on the other hand is commended for her faith. Looking back at the angel’s visit, Mary does ask a question, but it seems to be a clarifying one rather than one of doubt. Mary asked, “How will this happen since I am a virgin?” This question does not speak to doubt, but to what her next steps should be.

Elizabeth is living with a mute husband because of doubt, and Mary experiences something impossible to believe and/or describe because of her faith. Elizabeth tells Mary, “You are blessed for believing that the Lord would keep his promise to you.”

In that same regard, you and I are blessed when we believe that God keeps His promises to each of us.

For some, it may feel as though God has long since forgotten you, much less remembered about a single or specific promise that you see given in the Bible. If this is you, I hope you remember that when God is silent, this does not mean that He is absent. It might mean that the timing is not right, that you are not ready to receive the promise, or maybe something else.

I won’t claim to speak for God, but I know without any doubt that He knows who you are, and that He loves you.

For others, it may feel as though God might hate you, because a prayer you prayed did not come back the way you asked. I don’t know why God answers some prayers and not others, but I do know that His perspective is different from ours, and that sometimes He wants to walk with us through the pain rather than take the pain away.

It is my belief that God sees every possible future available that could result from every decision that is made, and He knows the path that leads to the best outcome in the end. This is the best outcome from His perspective, the perspective that looks at life from the framework of eternity, and the perspective that does not want even one person to be lost. Sometimes this means pain and/or seemingly unanswered prayers, but even when God appears to be silent or ignorant of your request, He still is there, and He wants to walk beside you through life rather than fix every problem or smooth every bump in the road.

For others, it might feel that God is close and that He is your best friend. If so, cherish the moments you spend with God and feel His presence. The caution I have is to not let your focus shift to being about “feeling” His presence. God is present whether or not we “feel” His Spirit near us. The temptation for those who emphasize the times when they feel God with them is to doubt God when they don’t feel His presence.

Don’t let that be you. God is present whether we feel Him and/or His Spirit or whether we don’t.

In every case, renew your trust and your confidence in God’s promises, remember that His Word never fails, and never forget that He cares about the wellbeing of all His creation. God looks at life from a different perspective than we do, and this perspective says, “I want to spend eternity with you.”

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life. Even when it feels like God is silent, remember that does not mean that He is absent. Remember that God has given us promises for a reason, and that reason is to help build our faith in Him.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to discover who God is and what His promises are. While some people rely on other people to give them knowledge of the Bible, choose instead to study the Bible for yourself and grow personally closer to God each and every day. God wants a personal relationship with you, and a personal relationship is best built on the foundation of regular prayer and Bible study.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!