Looking to the future

​12-16-21
As we prepare for celebrating our Lord's birth, today's devotion is based on the words of Mary, as they are recorded for us in Luke 1:52-53, “He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.”
As Mary continues to praise God, she does something that happens in a few other places in the Bible. She starts using the past tense for events that haven't even happened yet.
Look around you. Do you see the humble exalted and the mighty brought down from their thrones? It does not look like it to me. How about the hungry being filled with good things and the rich sent away empty? This hasn't happened yet either. A glance at the news tells us just the opposite.
So why does she say it this way? It looks like this is a thing that the Bible does whenever God wants to emphasize that something is true. It is as if He were saying, "Listen up! What I am telling you is so sure and certain that I will talk about it in the past tense. It is a done deal
That is what the coming of Jesus means to us—that we can be sure and certain that God is turning the current order of the world upside down. God Himself has come to destroy the power of the devil on the cross and to rise to new life. And He is bringing the human race into that new life along with Him. We who trust in Jesus have that new life already. And our resurrection and eternal joy with Jesus are so sure that we can talk about them in the past tense.
Please pray with me; Lord, thank You so much for what You have done and what You will certainly do for us because You love us. In Jesus’ blessed name, I pray. Amen.