His Words Will Never Fail

This mornings meditation is from Luke 1:26-38 NIV:

[26] "In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, [27] to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. [28] The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

[29] Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. [30] But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. [31] You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. [32] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, [33] and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

[34] “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

[35] The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. [36] Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. [37] For no word from God will ever fail.”

[38] “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her."

There is so much to think about in these verses.

I thought about the fact that the Lord, sent an angel to Zechariah several month earlier, as a predecessor to the angel He sent to Mary. I wondered if Mary had any really significant experiences early in life to prepare her for this visitation, or if this was the first indication she had of the Lord's favor? I was thinking about the facts of this experience, about how they were reported, if it was Mary herself who told of these events? I was thinking about how much the angel didn't say about Jesus, but rather planted the word and some truth about Him, and how her understanding of who Jesus was and what He was about developed over time and experience. I thought about her willingness to say yes, even without all the Information.

Finally, I thought about the truth expressed in verse 37 - "no word from God will ever fail.". That is such an awesome statement, and promise. It is both the foundation and the promise of our faith. I knew a guy who used to say, "Either God's word is true or it isn't!" I think we would be different people if we lived our lives like we really believe that statement. I know that I don't always understand God's words to me, or maybe I don't hear them, but that does not negate this truth. All of His words will accomplish exactly what they were intended to do, none will fail. Yes, all His words are true and will never fail.

Amen Lord.