And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
Luke 1: 46-56
How is that for a response to a God moment? Mary further demonstrates her availability to the Almighty by praising Him for such a wonderful encounter with Him. If you remember from the day before, Mary had just had a wonderful God moment. Elizabeth’s baby leaped for joy in response to the hope that was coming forth from Mary’s womb. Elizabeth then began to speak over Mary and praise the Lord. The joy of the Holy Spirit had filled the atmosphere of the home! Hope had arrived, God was in the room.
I sincerely believe the Lord is seeking His church to respond to His goodness and faithfulness as Mary did in this proclamation of God’s goodness. She encountered the Lord’s faithfulness, hope, and goodness, and responded in the only logical manner to her. Praise! She did not simply move on in her life hardly amused, nor did she go and brag to anyone about how special she was. Her response to God’s favor for her, and all of His children, was to praise Him and declare His faithfulness.
The Lord is seeking a generation who will rise up with such gusto. He is looking for sons and daughters who will declare His goodness after spending time with Him! He is not looking for people who show up to church, and leave unchanged and without entertaining His presence. He is looking and calling for a royal priesthood who can herald the good news of Jesus!
He is calling forth a generation that desires to spend time in His presence, and respond to Him, not simply show up to be entertained and fed. This is the hour He is calling His true sons and daughters to emerge and shine by declaring His goodness! He sent His Son so that the world may know Him, not so that we might use Him for our vain purposes.
Mary stewards this encounter and placed God onto center stage to be glorified! The Lord wants to bring you near, and wants to use you to bring others near. Are you encountering God? How are you stewarding these encounters? Are you tweeting and posting about how amazing you are for getting a revelation, or are you boasting of His greatness! The most amazing part of an encounter with God, is that God encountered us, not that we are something special.
Our Father is Faithful. Let’s honor Him by honoring Him with our responses to His presence. The difference between sheep and goats is that sheep love the presence of the Shepherd and know His voice. The goats simply follow to eat where the sheep are. Jesus is separating the sheep from goats. The faithfulness of the Father has given us access to intimacy and responsibility to honor the Shepherd. Let us respond to His faithfulness by being faithful to Him. Jesus is the best part of us, let us let the world see that and hear that! Respond, as Mary did.
Nate Staton 