October 24 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading:

Luke 1:39-56

³⁹And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
⁴⁰And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
⁴¹And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
⁴²And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
⁴³And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
⁴⁴For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
⁴⁵And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
⁴⁶And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
⁴⁷And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
⁴⁸For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
⁴⁹For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
⁵⁰And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
⁵¹He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
⁵²He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
⁵³He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
⁵⁴He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
⁵⁵As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
⁵⁶And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

Devotional:

What an amazing conversation these two women had together! They had bonds between them that gave them a freedom to speak of what was on their hearts. They were cousins and both pregnant for the first time. They were pregnant under conditions that were unusual. To each a messenger from God had announced the birth of her child. Each child would be very special, with a mission from God.

Even with these things in common it was evident that Mary's child would be the one who was unique. Elizabeth called Him her 'Lord'! Mary herself called Him her 'Saviour'!

Note verse 41: it was the Holy Spirit who gave Elizabeth the insight to comprehend that Mary's baby would be the Messiah. It is the Holy Spirit today who gives us the insight to embrace Mary's Son as our Saviour and Lord. These things are too much for our little minds to take in. A human baby — God! That is too much for us to believe. That is why (is it not?) God saw fit to make faith in His Son a gift (Ephesians 2:8). It is a gift from God and it is wrought in us by the operation of God's own Holy Spirit.

O thank You, God, for Your unspeakable gift (2 Corinthians 9:15).