Happy

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

HAPPY

Luke 1:39-45

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

NIV

Once again this might just be a story about how Mary and Elizabeth had a visit and that upon the entrance of Mary, John within the womb of Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit thus also filling Elizabeth. We might see that as she was filled she prophesied and consider that our life lesson. But what is not actually spelled out yet seems to stand out is the fact that there was joy within the womb of Elizabeth as well as what seems to be a happiness in Mary because she believed that what the Lord said to her would be accomplished. That word blessed which Elizabeth used in verse 45 is a different Greek word than she used in verse 42. When she said, “Blessed is she who has believed” that Greek word translated blessed, also means happy or fulfilled and content. This is the life lesson for true happiness, this is the foundation of true happiness,  to believe what God has said will,  by his own authority, come to pass. Although when she said “Blessed are you among women” she was using a word which means praised among woman, this also could mean happy. Nevertheless our lesson here is in the fact that if we desire true happiness we need to believe what God has said he would do. The fact is that if we do believe he will accomplish all that he has said he will do, then we will be happy. It is when we look elsewhere to find happiness we fail to find it. We might think other things will make us happy, but in actuality it is but for a fleeting moment. Those things lose their charm after time and we begin to the search for something to make us happy all over again. The only real joy, the only true sense of happiness is found in believing God will do what he said he would do. When John, even in the womb, was filled with the Holy Spirit, he leaped for joy. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, when we have the divine influence of God within us, why would we not leap for joy? Why would we not he so filled with happiness that it would be overflowing from within us? Should not our continence be so joyful that people will want to know what our secret is? By God’s own authority we are blessed, we are happy.