Each summer when I was a child, I would travel two hundred miles to enjoy a week with my grandparents. I wasn’t aware until later how much wisdom I soaked up from those two people I loved. Their life experiences and walk with God had given them perspectives that my young mind couldn’t yet imagine. Conversations with them about the faithfulness of God assured me that God is trustworthy and fulfils every promise He makes.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a teenager when an angel visited her. The incredible news brought by Gabriel must have been overwhelming, yet she willingly accepted the task with grace (Luke 1:38). But perhaps her visit with her elderly relative Elizabeth—who was also in the midst of a miraculous pregnancy (some scholars believe she may have been sixty years old)—brought her comfort as Elizabeth enthusiastically confirmed Gabriel’s words that she was the mother of the promised Messiah (vv. 39–45).
As we grow and mature in Christ, as my grandparents did, we learn that He keeps His promises. He kept His promise of a child for Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah (vv. 57–58). And that son, John the Baptist, became the harbinger of a promise made hundreds of years before—one that would change the course of humanity’s future. The promised Messiah—the Saviour of the world—was coming (Matthew 1:21–23).
By Cindy Hess Kasper
REFLECT & PRAY
Why can you trust God to fulfil His promises? Which of His promises bring you the most joy?
Loving Father, thank You for being trustworthy and for fulfilling Your promises.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
In the first chapter of Luke, we see an example of doubt and one of faith. Zechariah received news that his long-standing prayer for a baby had been answered (v. 13). But rather than accept God’s gift, Zechariah doubted (v. 18). Later, Gabriel announced to Mary that she’d been chosen to bear God’s Son. Her words mirrored Zechariah’s (v. 34 ), but, unlike Zechariah, Mary hadn’t asked for this blessing from God. She wasn’t objecting; she was only confused. When the angel clarified, Mary agreed with God’s plan (v. 38). Faith doesn’t preclude confusion, but it does require partnering with God in His work.
Jed Ostoich
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