Day 4: What the Lord Has Said
Will Be Accomplished!
Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished! (Luke 1:45)
After receiving the news that she would be with child and that He would be called the Son of the Most High, Mary hurries to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth, the angel had informed Mary, was also going to have a child! How very precious of God to give Mary “flesh and bones” to talk to! She must have been terrified over the angel’s announcement. Not only does God give her someone to talk with, the angel states that Elizabeth is also expecting, adding, “for nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).
I love what we read in Luke 1:39:
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea. (Luke 1:39)
The words rendered “got ready” in the NIV are actually one word in the Greek: anistemi, meaning “to stand again.” The news Mary had just received had certainly swept her off her feet! Have you ever been there? Received news that simply took you off your feet and left you flat? Me too! Mary gives us insight into “next steps.” She hurries off to validate the angel’s message by going to visit Elizabeth.
As soon as Elizabeth hears Mary’s greeting, the baby within her womb leaps and Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit:
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:41)
Then Elizabeth says these precious words through the anointing of the Holy Spirit:
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” (Luke 1:42-44)
Now that’s validity! The proclamation must have taken Elizabeth’s breath away too! Elizabeth’s last line of her announcement is our verse for today:
“Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” (Luke 1:45)
The word rendered “blessed” is the Greek word makarios meaning “blessed, blissful.” According to The New Testament Lexical Aids–Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible, “one is pronounced blessed when God is present and involved in his life. The hand of God is at work directing all his affairs for a divine purpose, and thus, in a sense, such a person lives coram Deo, before the face of God. Blessedness is sharing in the life of God, being favorably affected and influenced by God.” We would all do well to remember that we indeed abide coram Deo–before the face of God!
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13)
The word rendered “believed” is the Greek word pisteuo, meaning “to have faith in, to trust in.” Often when the word “trust” is used in the Old Testament it is the Hebrew word batah which means “to attach oneself–to feel safe, confident and secure” (Old Testament Lexical Aids–Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible). I love that because it is such a great word picture! I can envision myself holding on tightly to Jesus! In all actuality, that is how He holds us!
Take It to Heart
The word rendered “accomplished” is the Greek word teleiosis, meaning “the act of completion, successful effort, or fulfillment; also the state or attainment of perfection.” I love that–what God says, that will He do–to perfection. Mary believed what the Lord had told her would be accomplished to perfection and she indeed was blessed! May we be found as faithful as Mary!
