City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Luke 1:39-45 (ESV)

Commentary

There is a blessing in belief, not belief per se but belief in what the Lord speaks to us. That is what Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is saying to Mary in verse 45. Mary was blessed because she believed what God said to her.  

To be blessed is a wonderful thing. It means to be fortunate, happy, deeply content, or to have received God’s favor of approval. To be blessed is better than being rich, having a wonderful family, or having your dream job.  David summarized the  superiority of blessedness in Psalm 84 when he said, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere . . . . Blessed is the one who trusts in You” (Psalm 84:10, 12).

I don’t know if you are like me, but when I read in the Bible of people like Abraham, Moses, or Mary, who heard from God and believed Him, I think, “Of course you should believe what God says to you.” We think this way because we are viewing their decision to believe God in hindsight. The Bible presents the full arc of their stories from the promise to fulfillment, which obscures our ability to appreciate the challenge each faced in the moment of decision. 

In believing God, Abraham chose to go out without knowing where he was going, Moses chose to go down to Egypt knowing it could cost him his life, and Mary chose to go on, embracing God’s plan in the face of potential rejection from Joseph and her community. Their choices to believe God came with risk, cost, and consequences.

Application

We rightly admire the stories of such persons who believed and were blessed. These accounts are recorded in the Bible because they are significant in the story of God’s revelation. We can read, though, and not realize the opportunity to believe God and be blessed is equally available to us. 

The opportunity is available when we read Jesus’ words, “Give and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:38), and we must decide whether to believe and give or doubt and keep. The opportunity is available when we read, “Those who love their life will lose it, but those who lose their life for Me will find it” (Luke 9:24), and we must decide whether to believe and be selfless or doubt and be selfish. In those moments, we can choose to believe and be obedient like Abraham, Moses, and Mary, and become blessed. 

Prayer

Lord, please remind me in those moments when I must choose to believe that they are moments to be obedient and be blessed. Amen.