Blessed is she who has believed...

This morning I re-read one of my favorite Bible verses, Luke 1:45, "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" Elizabeth, full of the Holy Spirit, spoke this to Mary when she came to visit her shortly after the angel told Mary she was going to be the mother of Jesus. I was struck by the thought that Mary was not blessed because she received what the Lord had promised her, but because she believed.

I have received many promises from God through personal prophecies, God's voice in my inner spirit and that assured feeling that my prayers are being answered. These are in addition to the innumerable promises in the Bible, especially the promise of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. According to Luke 1:45, I am blessed when I believe what God has spoken to me.

Abraham was blessed when he believed, too. "Abraham believed the Lord and he credited it to him as righteousness." (Genesis 15:6) Now that is a blessing! Abraham obeyed God, living in a foreign land where God had sent him, not yet receiving the heir God had promised, yet knowing somehow God would keep his promise to him. That's how I want to live--in the blessing of Abraham--obeying God, knowing God will keep his promises to me. That's how I want to live--in the blessing of Mary-- allowing God to do whatever he wants to with my life, knowing that he will accomplish his word to me.

The blessing is in the relationship we have with God himself as we confidently wait for the fulfillment of his never-failing word. The fulfillment of God's promise is just the icing on the cake.