Blessed is She who has Believed

“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1:45

A couple months ago, I was listening to someone read the first chapter of Luke’s gospel, and when she read this verse, something in my soul soared with joy. It was as if it literally jumped off the page and into the very depths of my heart. I knew it was for me and have been thinking about this scripture ever since.

“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

God has given me a lot of promises. Some have already came to fruition, many still haven’t. Some I’ve been waiting for, for a very long time. To the point where I even doubt them. “Was it really God who promised me this? Maybe it was just my imagination, maybe I heard wrong. If it really was him, why is it taking so long? Maybe he meant that I need to make things happen for myself.”

“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

If I’m honest, I sometimes struggle with believing. I doubt God way more than I should. Not that he can do amazing things, I know he can do anything. But I sometimes doubt that he’ll do it for me. I mean, why would he? I’m just a nobody who doesn’t deserve much. Nothing good ever happens to me…

“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Did you know that if you say something enough times, whether it’s positive or negative, true or not, you’ll believe it? So when those little ‘woe is me’ lies start creeping in, I’ve learned to cast them down and instead repeat positive, life affirming things. Read aloud scripture over and over until I feel better. Sometimes it’s easier to do than others. But God has been so patient with me. Just when I feel like I can’t stay afloat anymore, he throws me another buoy to cling to. Like this verse.

“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

The gospel of Luke starts with Mary’s cousin Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah. While he was doing his priestly duties, and angel appeared to him and said they’d have a son. Since Elizabeth was barren, Zechariah strongly doubted. Seriously, who doubts an actual angel?! My favourite part of the story is when the angel came to him, he said, “I have come to tell you that your prayer for a child has been answered” (Luke 1:13 TPT). The footnotes in The Passion Translation say that there’s a Greek verb in there that would make it read, “the prayer you don’t even pray anymore.” If that’s the case, doesn’t the scripture bring on a whole new meaning? I know a few couples who have been hoping and praying for years for a baby, and I can only imagine what it must feel like. Month after month of anticipation and then disappointment. Then year after year. Honestly, I don’t envy anyone in this position.

How long would you pray for a child before you stopped? I suppose once a woman hits menopause, about the age of 50, she’d give up that prayer. And if Elizabeth got married at the age of 15, which was common in that day, that could mean they prayed for a child for about 35 years. And if she had already accepted her fate and stopped praying, we can assume the angel appeared another few years after her womb was dead. On the one hand, I understand Zechariah’s doubt. It was obviously impossible. But on the other hand, he was standing in front of an actual angel of the most-high God. And absolutely nothing is impossible with God. Sure enough, Elizabeth became pregnant with a son.

“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Then there was Mary. She was a virgin. An angel appeared to her to tell her that she’d become pregnant by the Holy Spirit. And do you know what she did? She believed! This, too, was impossible. But she believed anyways.

“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

I wish I was less like Zechariah and more like Mary. I wish I could just take God at his word. On the one hand, what he has promised me is impossible. But on the other hand, he’s the God of the universe and can do whatever he wants for whom ever he wants. He promises each of us different things at different times. Why do we have such trouble accepting and believing God wants to do amazing things for us and through us?

“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

I bet there are promises from God you’ve forgotten about, or prayers you don’t pray anymore. Maybe it’s time to revisit them. Maybe it’s time to start believing again. Believe that the Lord would fulfill his promise to you, whether this year or in the years to come. Blessing awaits if you do!

“Blessed are you who believe that the Lord will fulfill his promises to you!”