“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1.45, New International Version

I’ve always loved that verse, it circles around Pinterest a whole lot and I can see why. You want to be that woman, the woman who loves and trusts God with her whole heart. Getting to that place of belief and trust can be easier for some than others, but we all struggle with it. When you are facing seemingly impossible odds surrendering completely can feel like the last thing you want to do. We often want total control, walking blindly isn’t rational and yet it’s what our faith requires from us. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11.1, New King James Version. Trusting God is to become fearless, that can sound backwards to those who don’t believe. But isn’t it true?

When are you most afraid? Probably when you’re racking your mind trying to figure out any solution to your impossible. So then when you are you free, when are you fearless? When you’re trusting Jesus to be who He says He is, isn’t it?

Yes, that’s when the peace floods in. You don’t sink in it, you wonderfully float on it and let it take you where you’re meant to go.

How do you get there? How do you get to this wonderful place of a fearless heart?

Luke 1.45 comes out of Mary and Elizabeth’s story of conceiving their children, Jesus and John. For both women the odds were against them to even have children. You have Mary a young virgin and Elizabeth who was barren and too old to naturally conceive a child. And yet, God used them despite how their situation looked in the natural. Here’s what we can learn from Mary and Elizabeth’s story on how to fearlessly trust and surrender to our God:

1. God can do the impossible.

God will use you where you are at. He can birth ideas, relationships, children, finances, etc. no matter how your circumstances look. We just need to believe Him and be obedient in the things He’s going to use us for.

“And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” Luke 1.35-38, NKJV

2. Blessing in Believing.

“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1.45, NIV

Mary was blessed with the great honor of giving birth to the Savior of the world! That blessing came from believing that God favored her, the blessing came out of faith in what God said of her. We need to act on our faith in order to receive the blessings God has for us. We need to trust in His words, not ours.

3. Praise God for the things He has done for you.

Mary praised God for who He is and for using her to fulfill His story. We should do the same, even when we haven’t seen the promises come to pass yet.

“And Mary said: ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.’ And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.” Luke 1.46-56, NKJV

4. Your Testimony Blesses Many.

When we are used by God, it’s for a greater purpose than our own. When others see what God has done through you they are blessed by it. They are encouraged, inspired and brought into Kingdom Living.

“Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.” Luke 1.57-58, NKJV

We are a mighty vessels for God, this is why we need to be obedient to Him. We are used for much more than we can even imagine. Mary and Elizabeth would have never thought they were going to give birth to two of our world’s greatest men, one being our Savior. Wow! What things has God been birthing in you? Faith, love, peace. What about tangible things? Has he birthed a ministry through you? What about friendships, a husband, travel, dreams coming to pass, the list could go on. Is there anything you are waiting on God for? Remember, nothing is impossible for Him, you just need to let go and believe His promise of that.

I love what Joyce Meyer has said, “People are waiting for the evidence of what it’s really like to live for Jesus Christ.” We can become that evidence if we allow God to use us for His Kingdom. If we surrender every area of our life over to Him, even the areas we are most afraid to let go of. Our lives are for His glory, for His people, for His purposes. Let us be used by Him to help the world.

New International Version (NIV)

New King James Version (NKJV)

The Impossible