“My soul exalts the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
And His mercy is on generation after generation
Toward those who fear Him.
He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud
in the thoughts of their heart.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
He has given help to Israel His servant,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever.” Luke 1:46-55

Recently, I’ve been re-reading Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby and Claude V. King. The writers make the following very important point:
Stop worrying about finding God’s will for YOUR LIFE.
Focus instead on discerning GOD’S WILL.

This reminds me of the Magnificat, Mary’s song recorded in Luke 1:46-55. In this poetic passage, Mary expresses incredible joy. The thing that I find interesting is that she is rejoicing, not only over the great things God is doing in her own life, but also about the bigger picture of God’s work throughout history.

She talks about God having mercy on generation after generation. She is excited about His justice in bringing down the proud and the privileged, while exalting the humble and filling the hungry. The fact that God is keeping promises He made thousands of years before she was even born makes her joyful and excited.

I think this is what the authors of Experiencing God are talking about. This is an important corrective for my own narrow perspective. Too often, I focus only on what God is doing in my life in the present moment.

This is perilous because it’s such a limited view-point. one that is dictated by continually changing circumstances, instead of the eternal nature of God. Instead, I need to be more like Mary, to look for the BIG picture of what God is doing to glorify Himself throughout the world, and to rejoice in it.