Advent2025_Dec8

The Joy of Fulfilled Promise
Luke 1:39–45

Wherever God’s Word is believed, joy springs to life.

When God speaks, His people move. That’s why Mary, having heard Gabriel’s astonishing message, sets out “with haste” to the hill country. She doesn’t shuffle her feet. She doesn’t wait for everything to make sense. She goes. And she goes to the one place where she unexpectedly finds understanding and empathy . . . the home of Elizabeth, the woman who has also tasted God’s surprising mercy.

The moment Mary steps into the house, heaven’s activity becomes unmistakably clear. John, not yet born, leaps in Elizabeth’s womb, and Elizabeth herself is filled with the Holy Spirit. You can almost imagine the scene. No explanations. No introductions. Just joy. Joy that breaks into a quiet home in Judea because the Savior of the world has drawn near.

And listen to Elizabeth’s words. They are not the product of mere emotion; Luke tells us they are Spirit-given. “Blessed are you among women . . . blessed is the fruit of your womb . . . and why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

Elizabeth understands far more than a relative should. She recognizes the Child Mary carries as her Lord. And then she says something we must not miss: “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

There it is. The first beat of the Advent drum: God has spoken. Mary has believed. Joy has followed. The long prophetic silence is starting to be drowned out by laughter, blessing, and praise.

What a picture for us. Joy is not something we manufacture by trying harder or pretending everything is fine. Joy comes when we take God at His Word; when we believe His promises even before we see their fulfillment, when we receive His grace with open hands.

Mary believed God. Elizabeth believed God. And joy broke in.

Perhaps the question for us today is simple: Do we?
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For Young Ones: What happened when Mary walked into Elizabeth’s house? How did Elizabeth know Mary was carrying Jesus?

For Older Ones: Where do you sense the Lord inviting you to trust His Word more fully? What joy might follow if you do?

Pray: Lord, teach us to believe every word You speak. And as we believe, let the joy of Your presence fill our hearts and home.

Family Practice: Each person share one promise of God. After each one, simply say together: “The Lord keeps His Word.” She who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.