Mary’s Song
READ
Mary's song is revolutionary. After Elizabeth's affirmation, Mary bursts into praise—not a quiet, polite prayer, but a bold proclamation about who God is and what He does. We call it the Magnificat, from the Latin for "magnify," and it's one of the most radical statements in Scripture.
"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant."
Let’s take a moment to read Luke 1:46-56:
And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great thingsfor me— holy is his name.”
“His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.”
“He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.”
“He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.”
“He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.”
“He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”
Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
REFLECT
Let's sit with that word "lowliness" for a moment. Mary isn't just being humble—she's stating reality. She's a teenage girl from a nothing town in an occupied nation. She has no power, no status, no platform. In the world's eyes, she's nobody special. And yet God has chosen her for the most significant mission in human history.
This is how God works. This is what His favor looks like.
We've been conditioned to think God's favor means success, wealth, comfort, and ease. We think favor is getting the promotion, winning the lottery, having everything work out exactly as we planned. But Mary's song tells a different story about God's favor.
God's favor is about being chosen for purpose, not necessarily comfort. It's about being seen, known, and invited into His story, even when—especially when—the world overlooks you. God's favor doesn't remove difficulty; it gives meaning to it.
Mary continues: "He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty."
This is where the Magnificat gets uncomfortable for those of us with privilege and power. Mary is declaring that God's economy is upside down from ours. He exalts the humble and humbles the proud. He fills the hungry and empties the self-sufficient. He scatters the arrogant and shows mercy to those who fear Him.
The Incarnation itself is proof of this. God didn't come to earth through political power or military might. He came through a young woman's womb, born in a stable, raised in obscurity. The all-powerful God chose powerlessness. The eternal Word chose silence and infancy. The Creator submitted to His creation.
This is love expressed. Not love that maintains distance and demands service, but love that enters in, that humbles itself, that identifies with the lowly.
Mary's song reminds us that God has always had a special concern for those the world overlooks. The poor, the powerless, the vulnerable, the forgotten—these are the ones God consistently shows up for. Not because they're more deserving, but because they're more dependent. They know they need God in a way the self-sufficient often don't.
Here's the question this raises for us: Do we recognize our own lowliness? Do we see our need for God? Or have we become so comfortable, so self-sufficient, so full of our own strength that we've missed what it means to experience God's favor?
God's favor doesn't mean we get everything we want. It means we get God—His presence, His purpose, His power working through our weakness. Mary's favor meant carrying the weight of God's mission, facing social stigma, watching her son be misunderstood and eventually crucified. But it also meant being part of the greatest story ever told, being used by God to bring salvation to the world.
Maybe you're in a season where you feel overlooked, powerless, or small. Maybe you're facing circumstances that make you feel forgotten or invisible. Mary's song is for you. God sees the lowly. He lifts up the humble. He fills the hungry.
Or maybe you're in a season of abundance and strength. Mary's song is for you too—a reminder to hold your blessings lightly, to remember your own need for God, to align yourself with God's concern for the vulnerable rather than the values of a world that celebrates power and self-sufficiency.
The Magnificat teaches us that God's favor is expressed through unexpected people in unexpected ways for unexpected purposes. And often, that favor looks like being invited into something challenging, something costly, something that requires everything you have.
But it's worth it. Because God's favor isn't about making life easy—it's about making life meaningful. It's about participating in how God's love gets expressed in the world.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
How has God shown His favor to you in ways that didn't match your expectations of what "blessed" should look like?
Where in your life do you need to embrace lowliness and dependence on God rather than self-sufficiency?
How might God be calling you to align yourself with His concern for the overlooked and powerless?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Lord, we praise You because You see what the world overlooks. You lift up the humble and fill the hungry. Help us recognize our own need for You and experience the true favor that comes from being known, chosen, and used by You for Your purposes. Make us people who value what You value and celebrate how Your upside-down kingdom brings justice and mercy to the world. Amen.