God Uplifts

Text: Luke 1: 26-38

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Source

Mary was a virgin, engaged to be married to Joseph. She was not the only virgin in Nazareth but she was chosen; she was highly favoured. The angel Gabriel said to her “Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women”. She was intelligent and realistic; she asked the angel about his prediction of her becoming Jesus' mother: How can this be, since I do not know any man? Mary knew and believed the Lord. She was uplifted by God. She was elevated; an ordinary virgin became the Saviour's mother. Elizabeth was uplifted. Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she gave birth to John the Baptist. Joseph was lifted from the prison to become second in command to Pharaoh (Genesis 41:40).

Moses was lifted from the riverbed where he was left to fate to become the leader of the children of Israel who led them out of Egypt. David was taking care of his father's sheep when he was sent for and he was anointed to be king in front of his brothers. Daniel was in Babylon as a captive when God elevated him to be a great man; his greatness rubbed off on his three friends also. Theirs was a profitable relationship. Esther was an orphan and a captive in Persia and the Lord lifted her; she became the queen instead of Vashti. There are certain areas of your life where you desire uplift, elevation, enlightenment, improvement; some issues are challenging yours joy. God will turn things around in your favour, for your good; He will wipe away your tears, put a smile on your face and make your joy full in Christ Name. Amen.