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.”

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God's promises to Abraham

Genesis 12:1-3
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 17:1-8
1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

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Mary is declaring that God is a promise keeper. Even after all the waiting, in Jesus he is doing what he always promised to do.

Hebrew word Hesed
- the idea of faithful love in action and often in the OT refers to God's lovingkindness expressed in His covenant relationship with Israel
- His "loyal love" to His "Wife" Israel (Hos 2:18, 19, 20, Is 54:5, Je 31:32)
- His "loyalty to covenant").
- God's hesed denotes persistent and unconditional tenderness, kindness, and mercy, a relationship in which He seeks after man with love and mercy
- The refrain of Psalm 136 is "His Hesed endures forever"

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How do you do at waiting on God?

Do you trust God's promises?
That he is presence? That there is power in his Spirit? That there is a peace that surpasses understanding? That in Jesus there is forgiveness?

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How much certainty and details do you need?

Henri Nouwen on Mary’s first reaction to the news of Jesus
“She was saying, ‘ I don’t know what all this means, but I trust that good things will happen...She trusted so deeply that her waiting was open to all possibilities. And she did not want to control them. She believed that when she listened carefully, she could trust what was going to happen.”

The certainty we have is in God's character, even when the particulars are fuzzy or unknown.

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Practice: Hand on your heart and say, "He is with me"

Memorize scripture: Try Psalm 23 or 103 or the Magnificat.