Monday - Overflowing Joy
WEEK THREE - JOY
By Sylvia Evans • Creative Word Ministries
Overflowing Joy
Luke 1:46-55 •
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
For all the wonderful, exciting, and promising
things in Mary’s story, there is one little
statement that, if I were Mary, would have
seemed really frightening—not a happy
moment:
“And the angel departed…”
Knowing me, I would have been calling after
Gabriel: “Wait! Don’t leave yet!” But he was
gone—vanished from her presence! He left
the way he came—without using a door! Yet
he had answered her one question: “How shall
these things be…?”
Aren’t we glad Mary asked? And aren’t we
grateful she knew it wasn’t by the natural
way? This Word that Gabriel spoke was to be
“born of the Spirit,” though manifested in and
through human flesh.
I summarize Gabriel’s formula for
Mary in three words: Believe! Receive!
Conceive! Somehow, a Creative Word of faith
sprang from her heart and through her lips:
“Be it unto me according to Your Word!”
How like the Genesis Word in creation: “And
said, ‘Let there be…’ and there
God was…”
But now it was time for a
New Creation: “In
the beginning
was the Word,
and the Word
became
flesh…
”Young Mary
J OY
helped to speak it into being by her will to do
God’s will and to become what He wanted her
to be. She had just said “Yes!” God would bring
it to pass.
Mary’s “Yes” was what the angel had come for.
He took it and was gone! Now she was alone.
What should she do now? Who would believe
what she had just seen, heard, felt, said, and
received—and yes, conceived? Her parents?
Joseph? Friends? Her priest? Should she even
tell? Could she even put it into words?
Then the Spirit’s voice came:
“But Mary! Remember the last thing the angel
told you before he departed? About your
distant relative, Elizabeth? Follow the clue! Go!
Look for the treasure! Find her!”
And she did.
What joy! Their meeting was like the
confluence of two mighty rivers, flowing
together, overflowing their banks, and carving
a new path. Mary had met her mentor and
model—an older life-giver with a prophetic
word and anointing to confirm the promise!
I pray such joyous gifts for you, too—a joy that
overflows, confirms, and cuts new paths in your
life.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for joy that overflows as we
walk with those You’ve placed in our lives. Help
me in this season to be open to how You would
use others in my life. And help me to recognize
how You would use me to encourage and
strengthen those around me. Amen