Advent at Ararat- Day 7: Those who believe receive the fulfillment of those things promised.

“And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭41‬-‭45‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

After saying yes to being the mother to our Lord, Mary goes to visit her relative, Elizabeth, in the hill country of Judah.

The greeting of Mary to Elizabeth causes Elizabeth to be filled with the Holy Spirit. As well, the child Elizabeth was carrying (John the Baptizer) leapt with joy inside her womb. Elizabeth then makes a statement of simple, but powerful, truth:

“Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

The catalyst for this part of the plan of God to redeem the world and to reinstate our sonship, was the simple act of Mary believing what had been said to her by Gabriel.

I can’t help but wonder what any of us may have missed out on in our lives because we would not believe the word of the Lord. Now, some people get confused with statements like this because the question occurs: “If it is God‘s will for something, will it not happen, regardless?” I would answer that question this way: God‘s will will be done, but through whom it is performed depends on the willingness of His people or the agendas of those who are not His.

Let me explain. That our will must co-operate with God’s will for us is clear. However, another aspect of the irresistible nature of God‘s will is that He also uses the agendas of evil people to perform His plan (we will see this happen in our further examination of the events surrounding Jesus’ birth). You see, the Lord doesn’t override anyone’s will, but He will work His will through those who are doing things out of their own agenda. For example, think of how many times the children of Israel were disciplined—even punished—through their adversaries when the Lord would lift His protection, allowing the enemy to do what they wanted to do anyway.

With those who belong to the Lord, He will present His will and give us an opportunity to accept or reject. Then, it is also our part to believe that God will perform whatever He needs to perform to make what He has said come to pass.

Now, some may wonder why someone would say yes to the plan of God, then fail to believe. To explain I have need only to direct you to Peter who—after answering the call of Jesus to come out on the water—allowed the storm to cause him to doubt his safety (Matthew 14:22-33).

For today meditate on whether or not you have missed out by failing to believe that what God has promised is true. Life happens, but we must make sure that whatever happens in our life does not keep us from believing what God has said.

Additionally, even if you—to some extent—believe that the Lord will return for us and then rule and reign on the Earth forever, do you have an expectancy or an excitement about that happening? If you do not have expectancy and excitement concerning His coming again, your level of believing is not where it ought to be.

Yesterday we discussed saying yes to the word of the Lord. Today we are reminded that to see the plan/promise fulfilled, we must also believe.

Peace to you.

#adventatararat