December 21 I Tuesday

Micah 4-5

Revelation 12

“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil His promises to her!”  —Luke 1:45

When God says it, He will accomplish it. Not God said it, and we will try our best to accomplish it. Many Christians throughout history have made that mistake. If our life could be explained in terms of what we can do, we would be religious but nothing more than that. However, when God leads us into events that we know are right over our head, we can either quit, or say, “God, this is not what I do for You; this is what You are going to do because You have put me here.” Our response is simply to trust him. 

      After the angel told Mary that she had found favour with God and would carry a child who would become the Saviour of the world, Mary responded, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38, NKJV). This is like Mary saying, “God, You promised it and You will fulfill it. If You want to place the Seed of Your Son in my womb, what a marvelous privilege for me, but I can do nothing about it. May it be to me according to Your word.”

      The response God looks for from us is not, “Yes, God. I promise You I will try a bit harder than I have been trying in the past.” The quality of our faith will grow out of the genuineness of our fear and our awareness that “this is bigger than me.” As we reflect, many of us may agree that some of the best things that God has ever done in our lives happened because of our willingness to trust God. This is why strength is never a virtue in the Christian life, but a handicap. Weakness is a virtue in the Christian life. Because when we cannot, we say, “Lord, You can. Let it be to me according to Your Word. You do it!”

      When the Spirit of God becomes the source of our strength, our enabling and our ability, we begin to manifest qualities that, humanly speaking, we would never manifest. Qualities such as love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control—the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

      When Mary went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who was also blessed by God to be pregnant in her old and barren state, Elizabeth exclaimed, “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil His promises to her!” (Luke 1:45). What a blessing it is to believe when God said it, He will accomplish it!

Prayer: Almighty God, I believe as You said it, You will accomplish it. I surrender my might into Your hands and ask for Your strength to bring Your will to pass. Thank You, Lord.