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THE SOUL AND THE SPIRIT FULFILLED Luke 1:46-56 In her song, Mary is praising God for revealing His perfect plan of salvation to her. God informed her through an angel that she would give birth to His Son, Jesus. Mary trusted in God and gave Him room to work in her life. She knew that His plan is marvelous, and that without Him, she is nothing. Mary was engaged to Joseph at the time the Lord appeared to her through an angel. She may have had an idea of how she wanted her life to go, maybe just to raise a family with Joseph. But God had a bigger plan. He would use her to give birth to Jesus, and He would save His people from their sins. After God told her of this, she said, “I am the Lord’s servant…” (Luke 1:38) Then she praised God in a song. Mary had already been saved because she said, “my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (vs. 47) Mary surrendered her life to God before she knew what He had planned for her life. She had faith that God would direct her life how He saw fit, not just how she wanted it to go. If we give God the room to work in our hearts today, and put our complete trust in Him, God will begin to move and do a great work in our lives. Mary saw that this was true in her life, because she said in verse 49, “for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is His name.” She recognized that God is holy, and that what He has done will have a huge positive impact on many people. In verse 50, Mary said, “His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.” Mary recognized that what God does is mighty—not unloving or unfair. Even though we may not see exactly why God does something in our lives, we must see that He knows what He’s doing and that He is a mighty God. Verse 51 and 52 go on to say, “…He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble.” God makes no exceptions for those who don’t surrender. He will bring down those who are proud and haven’t surrendered to Him completely. Mary was a humble servant, and she has been lifted up—she was very thankful to God for that. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:10) God rewards those who are humble and willing to follow Him with the gift of His Holy Spirit. When we, like Mary, surrender to God and make room in our hearts for Him to fill us completely, He will lift us up. He will be able to use our lives to His glory and honor, and our lives will be complete and fulfilled. ~ Kimberly Frantz
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