Choosing to Praise
Are you willing to praise God in the middle of uncertainty?
Verse of the Day
“And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior”
Today’s Devotional
Mary was a young Jewish woman who was pledged to marry Joseph. Before she is married, the angel Gabriel comes to give her a message. “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.” (Luke 1:31-32) But Mary is a virgin. When she asks Gabriel about this, he tells her that she will conceive this baby by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Can you pause for just a moment and consider the number of questions and concerns and fears this information must have created for Mary? And yet what was her response? “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” (Luke 1:38)
Only a few days later, Mary goes to visit her relative, Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist. And without being told about Mary’s encounter with Gabriel, Elizabeth knows that Mary is pregnant with the Messiah. And Mary’s response to all of this uncertainty is to praise God.
“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him.
How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.’ (Luke 1:46-50)
I picked today’s verse for a specific reason. I have been really wrestling with what to write, with how to focus on Jesus and the beauty of His message as we celebrate Christmas. I keep praying for Jesus to show me what I need to focus on. Add to that, I am in a season of life that has quite a bit of uncertainty. I need the reminders to praise God no matter what.
A few days ago while I was in a Bible study with some friends, we were discussing 3 John 11, where John encourages us to imitate what is good. We are creatures who imitate others very easily. But we get to choose who we allow to influence us. Today, I want to imitate Mary’s example. She received one of the most important “assignments” in the history of the world, and it was full of uncertainty and potential ramifications. But still she chose to praise.
Mary’s example is worthy of imitation. No matter what happens, I want my answer to be “I am the Lord’s servant” and I want my response to be praise.
This season is about praise. Christmas is a time to focus on Jesus and praise His Holy Name. Mary did not have all the answers and was probably full of uncertainty, but still she chose to praise. We do not need to have everything figured out and settled to be ok. We can choose to praise.
Jesus does not need us to understand everything perfectly. Jesus wants our praise. He is inviting us to turn our attention to Him no matter how crazy the world feels, no matter how unqualified we feel, no matter what circumstances we are facing. Because He is sovereign over it all.
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. No matter what.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How can you stop down and simply praise God today?
Why does God deserve your praise?
How can you praise God in spite of any difficulties you are currently facing?
Looking at a specific situation in your life today, how can you imitate Mary’s response.