“For me…Holy is His name?”
(Luke 1:46-49)
The first chapter of Luke gives us a picture of a young woman with big worries. Mary is pregnant, unmarried, poor, away from home, and not only is this her first child she is told she will be the mother of God! What she does with all the anxiety in her life is an example for those of us facing our own personal season of big worries. After some encouragement from an older wise relative, Mary exchanged her big worries for worship.
She sings, “My soul glorifies the Lord”. I heard pre-school kids sing this song yesterday, “I have the love of Jesus down in my heart, WHERE?” This song echoes others who traded worry for worship like Hannah, Miriam, Job, Isaiah, David, and Micah. We can do it, you and I ordinary people with big worries can have this love of Jesus so deep in the new heart that God gives us. As his daughters and sons we can sing no matter what, “My soul glorifies the Lord”.
This song reminds us that in the uncertain big worries of our complicated life we can reflect the image of God living in peace that God is good and God is love. Ann Voskamp author of One Thousand Gifts writes that it is difficult to hold two emotions at one time, “Feel thanks and it is impossible to feel angry. We can only feel one emotion at a time. We get to choose.” Let’s choose today to trade worry for worship, knowing that our future is secure we can sing with Mary “For me…Holy is His name”.