Would You Rejoice?

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
- Luke 1: 46a-48a

So begins the Song of Mary, also known in Latin as the Magnificat (meaning "to magnify"). This is after Mary has been visited by the angel Gabriel and has gone to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. Upon Mary entering the house and greeting her, Elizabeth immediately receives a revelation that Mary is to be the mother of the Messiah. Elizabeth then says, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." (Luke 1:42b), which prompts Mary to respond with the Song of Praise.

But would you rejoice if you were in the same situation? Imagine you are a young mother, pregnant before your wedding, with the promise of an angel that your baby will be the savior. With all of that pressure and stress, would you sing a song of praise to God? Or would you immediately begin venting your worry with your cousin?

Fear, concern, and anxiety are normal feelings. We are told "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." (Phillipians 4:6) Praying for help, guidance, or relief might be your normal response to hardship. But are you able to rejoice in God during tough times?

We often think of difficult times as an anomaly in the regular course of our lives. It can be easy to put off rejoicing until things are "back to normal." But the fact is that hardship, of varying levels, is the norm. Rejoicing in God, even when we are suffering hardship, is how we show our gratitude for what we still have: friends and family, a chance to learn and grow, a new and deeper understanding of ourselves.

We can choose to focus on the negative: the difficulties, the unexpected, the unfair. Or we can choose to see the Lord's blessings in our lives and raise those up. So in the hardships of life, does your soul magnify the Lord?