Characters at the Cradle: Mary and Elizabeth, God’s Promises are True

by David Chadwick

Elizabeth’s next words to Mary are amazing. Follow along with me as we look at Luke 1:45.

Elizabeth said, “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Did you catch what Elizabeth blessed in this verse? She blessed Mary’s faith. Mary heard from the mighty angel Gabriel and she believed that every word that he had said to her was true.

We all need examples of faith. It doesn’t matter if we are old or young, we all need the gift of faith. We must fight to believe that all of God’s promises are true. We must train our minds to believe that faith can cause mountains, the seemingly impossible situations of life, to move from here to there (Matthew 17:20). We must believe that what God has promised to us is received even when we can’t see it (Hebrews 11:1).

We can find many examples of people who modeled this kind of faith both in the Bible and throughout history.

Historically, consider missionaries like Hudson Taylor who went to China with little resources to claim it for God’s glory. Or Jim Elliott who endured tremendous hardship to reach the unreached in Ecuador, ultimately losing his life. How about David Livingston? He spent decades evangelizing in Africa. There are countless more examples.

Or biblically speaking, take a look at Abraham. He waited 25 years for Isaac, the child God had promised him. Or what about Joshua? Even though the Promised Land was within reach, he had to wait 40 years before entering it. Or King David, who was faithful in the pasture before he was ever entrusted with the palace. How about Paul? He spent years in prison for the sake of the Gospel where he had to wait on the Lord. Yet in prison was where he wrote most of the New Testament.

Then, there’s Mary. Perhaps she should be at the top of the list! As a virgin, she believed the child in her womb truly was the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. That this Jesus whom she bore was the Savior of the world. And that all of God’s promises really are true!

This is the kind of faith we must seek to emulate!