Every Longing HeartSample

A Lowly Handmaid & Her Magnificent God

She was an unwed and soon-to-be pregnant teenager from the podunk town of Nazareth. By her own account, she was a real nobody. Yet, the angel Gabriel had news for her that said otherwise. He told her God highly favored her and that she would be considered the most blessed among women…ever.

Her unfathomable privilege was that she would conceive and bring forth a Son, the Messiah, and his kingdom would have no end. But perhaps most shocking of all was the detail that she would bear the Messiah as a virgin.

If any woman had reason to panic over the news of an unexpected pregnancy, it was Mary. Her situation was nearly impossible to explain and could ruin her socially. But Mary’s response to this news was as otherworldly as the messenger who delivered it. It revealed a young heart so thoroughly steeped in the truths of God’s word that nothing could shake her.

Mary’s song, or the Magnificat, overflowed with worship for what God had done for her and for Israel and future generations. As you read it, consider how Mary’s heart longed to worship and give thanks.

1. She Gave Thanks for the Present

Overwhelmed with praise, Mary referenced God over twenty times in her song, and eight times she praised him for what he had done. Her heart was in tune with seeing God at work in every area of her life. Mary’s greatest desire was to magnify, or make great, the name of the Lord.

2. She Gave Thanks for the Future

Mary saw the future-saving work God was doing through the Son she bore. Even in her youthfulness, she recognized God was overthrowing the normal social order and elevating a lowly maidservant like herself.

3. She Gave Thanks for the Past

Because of her thorough understanding of Scripture, Mary could see her particular circumstances in light of everything God had already done for Israel. She saw her part in God’s sweeping redemptive story, returning to the Abrahamic covenant. God had been faithful in the past and would continue to be faithful amidst all of her unknowns.

Mary was the first to admit that she was only a lowly maidservant of the Lord. But God saw beyond her station and gave her the most beautiful privilege he ever gave to any woman.

Since Eve, we’ve all been born under the curse of sin, but Mary’s Son was the exception. Not because Mary was sinless but because Jesus, being born of the Holy Spirit, was.

Mary was blessed, and her song revealed a young heart overflowing with thanksgiving and awe. Consider her words, and seek to model her humility and recognition of her unworthiness before God. As we do, we’ll see God as Mary did, the true longing of our hearts.

• Thank God for your past, present, and future. How has his faithfulness to you in the past increased your trust in him now and in the future?
• How is God reordering your affections to love him more?
• How is God calling you to express more thankfulness today?