My Soul Glorifies the Lord

Transcription

1 My Soul Glorifies the Lord A Ten-Day Devotional Based Upon The Song of Mary By Aimee Imbeau

2 My Soul Glorifies the Lord: A Ten-Day Devotional Based Upon The Song of Mary Aimee Imbeau Copyright Aimee Imbeau 2016 All scripture in NKJV unless otherwise noted. Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Graphics courtesy of BellasScrapsnClips All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

3 Mary s Song And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.

4 Day One And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord, Several years ago, I went through a dry, parched season in my spiritual walk. It wasn t an easy journey, that s for sure. In fact, I had difficulty just opening up my Bible to read it. It is the oddest thing, really. I look back on those years yes, years, and my heart aches. Not because I couldn t open my precious Bible to read it, but because in spite of that fact, God continued to carry me across that desert terrain through the singing of worship songs. My soul continued to magnify my Heavenly Father even when I could not open my Bible to read it. My soul magnified Him through worship and placing my trust in Him during such a tough season. Mary understood this awareness well. After the visit with Gabriel, she travelled to see her cousin, Elizabeth. To be an unwed mother in those days was almost unheard of. It was reason for stoning. Who would believe a young girl with such an unbelievable story? And yet, the moment Elizabeth heard Mary, she was filled with the Holy Spirit and the baby within her (John, The Baptist) leapt. Elizabeth refers to Mary as the mother of her Lord, giving confirmation to Mary that she is indeed going to have that very special babe. Mary is probably very tired from her journey. And, yet, she glorifies God. Her soul glorifies Him. I wonder if she was amazed by the word of encouragement God gave Elizabeth for her. It was just what she needed. She reveres God with her whole heart. If you have children, think back to your first trimester of pregnancy. How worn out you likely were. She doesn t have a pity party for herself. She doesn t start complaining about her achy feet, swollen ankles or her throbbing back like I probably would have. No, she doesn t. She worships her Father because she sees just how gracious He has been to her with Elizabeth s response. She has faded away with all of her hardships. God has filled her heart and soul. To magnify is to declare great, to be highly esteemed. Declare the holy name of God. Esteem Him. Through whatever

5 means necessary for you during this time. Sing worship songs, listen to Godly speakers, color pictures that have scripture verses on them. Do what you can right now to continue magnifying Him. It may seem insignificant to the proud and haughty, but to Him, when you glorify Him with your whole heart, it blesses Him. My friend, are you tired this Christmas season? Do you feel the exhaustion of a long, endless journey? If so, continue to glorify His holy name. You don t have to dance around and act full of energy. But watch for those little gifts of encouragement your Heavenly Father whispers to you as He had Elizabeth speak softly to Mary. This Christmas, allow Him to completely fill your heart. Let your troubles fade away and sit at the feet of the Savior of the world. Reflection Questions How will you declare His name great this season? Are you familiar with that feeling of exhaustion Mary must have felt when she arrived at Elizabeth s? Write about a time when you felt like that. If you feel that exhaustion now, share details below. What little gifts of encouragement has God given to you lately? List them below. Include ways in which you can be an encouragement to someone else this season.

6 Day Two And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. Do you remember the day when you knew deep down that you needed a Savior? You recognized the filthiness of your sin and knew that the only way to have freedom was to acknowledge your need for the Savior, Jesus Christ. Here, Mary is recognizing her need for a Savior. I find this interesting. She has humbled herself so much to admit that she needed her Son to save her. It would have been easy for her to grow prideful although, God surely would ve known that fact beforehand and would have chosen someone else. But as the mother of the Savior of the world, she could have elevated herself above everyone else. Can you imagine? How would you react to the fact that you were carrying the child of God? Think about that for a moment. Try and wrap your head around that incredible idea. God. The creator of the earth. The One who has full control over the entire universe. He breathed life into each one of us. And He chose Mary to carry the Savior who would save me. Who would save you. Over 2,000 years later, He still saves. And she was His mother, protecting Him, nurturing Him, risking her life for Him. And she remained humble, recognizing her need for her Son to save her. Doesn t that make you in awe of her? It is no wonder God chose her to bear His Son. I m not sure I would have remained so humble. Or brave and courageous. Mary also says that her spirit rejoices in what God has done. This joy is beyond what the world gives. This is deep down elation and delight. Do you know this joy? Mary s circumstances were not what would be considered happy. She was pregnant out of wedlock. She had more than enough reason to be fearful and anxious. And yet, she looked beyond her circumstances towards God and His plan. She trusted Him completely. And because of her trust and obedience, she was full of joy.

7 Reflection Questions How have you trusted God in your own life? How has He filled you with His joy as you chose to trust and obey Him? Is there something He is asking you to trust Him with now? How will you start growing in your trust? What tools will you use to help you? Write out scripture verses? Get a friend to be accountable with? A few years back, I decided to begin praying for God to fill me with His unspeakable joy. As someone who suffers from mild depression at times, I have found that this little prayer has had a major impact on my life. Those moments of depression occur less often, are over quicker and are not as dark. Are you willing to try asking God for His unspeakable joy right now?

8 Day Three For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. It is speculated among some Bible scholars that Mary was not only from a poor family, but she may have also been an outcast of sorts or neglected, looked down upon. Examples of Leah and Hannah are given for the idea that God bestows great favor on the downcast and neglected, those who have been treated unjustly. This behavior does embody the character of God. There are many examples in the Bible where the down and out were chosen for great things. He chose men and women who were underqualified, doubtful, insecure and imperfect to do His will and fulfill His plans. You see, the only prerequisite for Him to use these people was a willing heart. Mary was willing. She was obedient. She made herself available for her Heavenly Father. She agreed to be His maidservant, which means slave to do His bidding. This is what it means to be willing. She left her inhibitions in the field that day Gabriel paid her a visit. She was willing to trust her God. There have been many times in my life where I know God has led me to do something and I wonder why He chose me. When I go and speak to women broken women and I think Who am I that He would send me to speak truth to these women? I am always so humbled at such opportunities. I am humbled that the God of the universe would use me to fulfill His plans. I have doubts. I question why and how. I question my abilities! I wonder if God is crazy for asking me to do such things. But when it comes down to it, I push those doubts and questions aside. I ignore the fear and I saddle up, ready to go. Because I want to be obedi ent to my Father. As we prepare for Christmas and the New Year, can we challenge each other to be insanely obedient to God in what He asks us to do? This challenge is just as much for me as it is for you. I am more accountable because I have written it in this devotional and you know about it. I know you ll be watching to see if I am obedient to His calling! So, let s do

9 this together! Let s encourage each other! For it is when we make ourselves fully available to God, we are blessed and truly happy. Reflection Questions When was the last time He asked you to do something you thought was insanely crazy? Did you wonder why He asked you? What did you do? Did you do it anyway? What was the outcome? Maybe you ignored His calling. Do you regret it? Are you ready to ask Him to call you again? If so, ask Him to call you to a new adventure. Do you know someone who is dreaming and obeying His calling on their life? How can you encourage them in this?

10 Day Four For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. Mary sings the praises of her Heavenly Father. We know she has made a choice that isn t going to make life any easier for her. She has chosen to carry the calling of God. No doubt she is anxious and scared. However, instead of wallowing in those fears and worries, she consciously chooses to remember all the good He has done for her over the years. She is focusing on how this is His plan and not hers. She recognizes that when God called her to this, He would bring her through it. She knows He is bigger than her earthly problems. Her confidence in His provision is shown in her song. And she declares that He is holy. It is not an easy thing to do when we go through the storms of life, to remember His provision. Typically, the last thing we want to do is give God thanks for everything He has done for us. It just goes against our human, sinful, selfish nature. Reflecting on the good that God has given to us during the good times and the bad is a skill that we need to develop and cultivate. It takes time and effort. It takes work on our part. It means taking our eyes off of our problems, even if it feels like they are consuming us, and looking to our Savior. Keeping our eyes on Jesus won t make our troubles suddenly disappear. But it will make them feel smaller, because our God is bigger. He is so much bigger than our problems. We have to endure these difficulties anyway, why not endure while looking to Him instead of ourselves? If a young, unwed mother can sustain her gaze on her Heavenly Father in the midst of possible death and certain exile, then we can do some serious spiritual training to follow her example. Reflection Questions What difficult situations has God brought you through? Spend some time right now thanking Him for carrying you through.

11 What things can you do to ensure that you keep your eyes focused on Jesus during the good and bad times? How are you helping a friend keep her eyes on Jesus?

12 Day Five And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. Fear the fear of God. What does that exactly mean? I know one popular viewpoint is that we do not have to be afraid of God. I ve heard it said that this fear is simply a healthy respect for God. I don t know about you, but I ve come to a place in my spiritual life where I know for certain that I when I come face to face with God, I will do so with fear and trembling. It is so much more than a healthy respect for God. I don t believe our God is a God who will strike us down with lightning the moment we mess up. No, that s not the fear I mean. I mean a Holy fear, to be fearful of His holiness. A Holy fear that will make us confess, repent and turn from our sin. And this is where His mercy comes in. We can t have mercy without Holy fear. Mary recognizes this truth. She knows about the fear of the Lord. She knows His mercy. And she is seeing so much further than beyond the present. She understands that the mercy of the Lord is coming through her unborn child. From generation to generation, God will show His mercy in His Son dying on the Cross and rising again. This is the God we ought to fear; the One who sent His only Son to the Cross for our sin. Even the sin we are justifying. Oh, I know all about justifying sin. I ve been there and done that. I still try to sometimes. And then I am overcome with the fear of my God s holiness. And I beg for His mercy. May I never lose that Holy, Godly fear. Reflection Questions How do you view the fear of God?

13 Is there a sin that you are toying with in your life right now? What would it mean for you to confess, repent and turn away from that sin this Christmas? How has God shown His wonderful mercy in your life? Ask God to give you a Holy fear of Him.

14 Day Six He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. This year, I started praying a special little prayer to God. I prayed that my heart would never depart from His. This prayer means that I have to put aside my own desires and wants and seek after Him and His plan for my life. In order for me to remain in Him, I need to constantly be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is ongoing, unceasing state of being; it is an active form of the verb. The fruit of this simple little prayer has been wonderful! This is where I have drawn my strength from. Just as Mary knows to fear the Lord, she also knows His strength to the humble. She has no pride or selfishness. She has emptied herself of such things, and in turn, has been filled with the Holy Spirit. She is filled by Christ physically and spiritually. The same happens to us when we empty ourselves of our own selfish efforts. When we get rid of pride, which is not an easy thing to do! And instead allow our Father to fill us with His Spirit. He will strengthen us that is how He strengthens us. He scatters the proud but the humble He draws them near to Him. I have been far from God before and I never want to be again! I long for Him to draw me so close to His heart. That is where I feel safe and protected. In order for me to remain close to Him, I must reject pride and embrace humility. And that is not always easy. Sometimes that means not defending yourself. Sometimes it means putting up with more than you think you can handle. And sometimes it means letting go of relationships and situations that you can t control. Draw close to your Father, my dear sister. Acknowledge your desperate need for Him and allow yourself to be drawn close to His heart. Reflection Questions Are you prepared to begin praying that little prayer I mentioned in the first paragraph? If so, add it to your prayer journal or whatever you use during your prayer time.

15 In what things do you need to empty or get rid of in your life right now so that He can fill you up? Is there anything you are being selfish with? Prideful? How do you remain humble? List 3 ways that help you stay humble: Think of a time when you ve had to draw on His strength. What happened?

16 Day Seven He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. I wonder if Mary has been given a little glimpse of what was to come. The Son she was about to bear would rule over the entire earth. He would be the Prince of Peace and the King of kings. He would rule from His heavenly throne. This sweet, humble girl sacrificed herself. She laid down her life and her reputation, just as her Son would in the coming years. But first, He would become lowly. Matthew 11:29 says, Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Sometimes this world feels unfair. OK, most of the time it does. We see injustice all around. I don t think a week goes by where there isn t some sort of horrendous crime. And these are the things that make the news. So much goes unreported. For many of us, these things will weigh us down. They will burden our hearts. And so they should. Being a burden-bearer brings on a lot of responsibility (see my posts about burden-bearers - here and here). Our main responsibility is to bring these burdens to the Lord in prayer, lifting these things up to Him whenever we are burdened by them. It can be easy to forget to pray about these things and allow them to heavily burden us, bringing on a sense of darkness and depression. However, we can rest in the truth that God has this entire world under His complete control. Nothing happens without His knowledge. Everything has to have His approval and it is because of these terrible things that He is returning to bring us home. And the lowly will be exalted. Reflection Questions What do you think about the idea of Mary sacrificing herself? In what ways did she sacrifice herself?

17 Does your heart feel burdened by tragic events - locally, nationally and/or internationally? Do some things bother you more than others? List them below. If you answered yes to the above question, are you knowledgeable about being a burden-bearer or being the spiritually sensitive person? Explain below what you know. Are you resting in the truth that God has everything under His control? If not, how can you start resting in this truth?

18 Day Eight He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. Mary is recognizing the spiritual blessings that God has given to her. She knows that she has been chosen by God, as all of us believers have been. With Mary, we have been adopted into His family. We are His children. Not grandchildren or cousins. But His children. We have been given grace beyond measure as we are accepted and beloved. Aren t you so thankful that His grace is unending? I know I definitely need ceaseless grace. We have been ransomed and redeemed by the blood of Christ. Just a little thought here can you imagine having the blood of Jesus Christ running through your veins? That thought just puts me in awe. What would that have been like? We have been given the spiritual blessing of Godly wisdom. Mary had the Godly wisdom to be a part of God s great plan His greatest plan! May I have the same kind of wisdom. I don t want to miss out on His plan for my life! We have been given the forgiveness of sins. Do I need to say more? We have an inheritance in heaven. We can t even fathom what this means. The spiritual blessings that are to come for those of us who believe well, our human minds just cannot comprehend. And I can t wait for that day! What a reason to celebrate Christmas! We are sealed by the Holy Spirit, we are marked. Oh, to have that heavenly mark saying I am His! What a blessing! We are given freedom. We don t have to live with our chains. We can live a life of freedom as a spiritual blessing. Live like you are free, my sweet sister. You have been given freedom as a spiritual blessing.

19 Claim it. It is yours. Fight for it. Through this Christmas season, think on these wonderful spiritual blessings ad thank your Heavenly Father for them! He has graciously and freely given these magnificent things to us, His children! He has certainly filled the hungry with good things. Reflection Questions Do you recognize the spiritual blessings in your life? List them below. In today s reading, I just listed the more obvious spiritual blessings we have been given. This list is certainly not an exhaustive list - by far, there are many, many more blessigns our loving, Heavenly Father has bestowed upo us. If you have some time, research other spiritual blessings that we, as followers of Christ, have been given. List them below - include scripture references. Out of all of the blessings I listed and the additional ones you found, which one(s) are easiest for you to accept and receive? Which one(s) are the hardest? Why?

20 Day Nine He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, A few years ago, while I was driving home on a busy highway, I started to hear this loud, low rumbling. The car started to shake violently. It was difficult for me to remain in control of this huge piece of metal and steel. I didn t know exactly what was going on, but: 1. I was scared. 2. I knew I was in danger. 3. I called on God for help. I was able to remain calm enough to remember that we had OnStar in our car. I pressed the button and immediately a lady came on the speaker to help me. I told her I didn t know what was happening but my car was starting to get out of control. She calmly asked me a few questions about lights and such. By that time, I could see tire rubber flying from the front wheel. I was almost ready to hit the panic button! The lady gently instructed me to pull over as best I could. It was not easy to navigate a vehicle that has lost its tire! But I managed to do as she said. She called a tow truck and because of my obvious distress, she offered to call the police if I did not feel safe. I said I was ok. However, I did ask her to call my husband for me and she did and he came valiantly to my rescue and to wait for the tow truck! When my husband came and I was able to calm down, I got out of the car to look at the damage. YIKES! It truly is a miracle that I was not in a serious accident! There was nothing left of that tire and they were brand new tires! And it is even more of a miracle that this occurred right on a stretch of highway that gave me the perfectly safe spot to pull over without threat of being hit by another car! I was able to pull into a turn off that went into a shut down concrete industrial building. Mary is remembering how God stretches His mighty hand down to those of us who are in danger, who are in need of help. Israel was in desperate need of assistance, just as I was that fateful day on the highway. He is always ready to help

21 those of us who fear Him and adore Him. This Christmas, let s remember those times that He has helped keep us safe and out of peril. Let s remember His wonderful mercy and kindness. Reflection Questions Do you believe that God wants to help you? There is a difference between able to help and actually wanting to. I struggled with this for a long time - I didn t think God actually wanted to help me. I talk about it a bit in this post about when I thought I lost my faith. You can be honest with God about how you are feeling. He already knows anyway;) But one thing I learned was that my feelings and the truth don t always line up. I must choose truth over my feelings when they differ. List some scripture verses below that tell you the truth about the lie that God does not want to help you. Meditate on those verses throughout Christmas and as long as you need to. Think about a time when you called out to God in distress and He helped you, like my blown tire story. Thank Him again (or for the first time) for helping you. Thank Him for His tender mercies. Thank Him for sending His Son as a baby to a virgin girl.

22 Day Ten As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever. It has been almost 20 years since I started my healing journey of childhood sexual abuse. I think about where I was back then. I remember the darkest moments of dealing with this breach of trust of a 6-year old girl. Times when I longed to end my own life. I get emotional going to those places. The emotion does come from remembering the pain, but mostly it comes from reflecting on what my Savior has brought me through. I see where I was and what He has made me into. He took my brokenness and created something beyond beautiful. He promised to restore and redeem me. It took a lot of time, work and healing, but He has been faithful to His promise. He is still working, still healing from many painful experiences, but what He has already done in my life makes me stand in awe of Him. ago. To end her song, Mary remembers God s promise to Abraham from centuries I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Genesis 12:2-3 She seems to understand that the fulfillment of this promise will be through her offspring, the babe that is growing inside of her womb. The magitude of this realization must have overcome her with gratitude and awe. Through her child, one of the greatest promises will be accomplished. There will be a great nation of believers, a family of God. A we are a part of that. Isn t that amazing?

23 Reflection Questions How do you remember the difficult things God has brought you through? What does the fulfillment of God s promise to Abraham through the birth and life of Christ mean to you? Final Reflections Are you ready to take the time this Christmas season to humble yourself before God? Will you spend some time at His feet, rejoicing in all He has done for you? Are you ready to keep your eyes on Him? Are you prepared to let go of the sin you are holding on to so that you can embrace all that Jesus has for you? Can you begin receiving His mercy?

24 Would you stand with me and get rid of pride so that He can strengthen through His Spirit? What are three take-aways from this devotional? Thank you so much for joining me on this journey of life by subscribing to my newsletter and reading my blog posts. I appreciate you all and I love praying for you. If you d like ot discuss the thoughts and reflection questions in a safe group setting, I have set up a closed Facebook group for this purpose. Search for A Work Of Grace Discussion Group and ask to join! We can talk about anything there! In Grace, Aimee Imbeau A Work Of Grace