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After Mary received the angelic message, Luke informs the reader in Luke 1:39, "Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah." Mary traveled from her home in Nazareth to Judah. I.H. Marshall writes, "The journey was about 80–100 miles from Nazareth and would take about 3–4 days. Mary's haste (σπουδή) reflects her obedience to the angelic message." (Source: Marshall, The Gospel of Luke, a Commentary on the Greek Text, p. 80)
Joy does that to a person. It makes us move quickly. In verse 39, the Greek word translated "haste" is spoude, and it sounds like the English word "speed". It means to be diligent and earnest. Joy has a unique way of motivating us to do the right thing, even though it might not be the easiest thing to do.
Have you ever noticed how much you can get done on the eve of a vacation? You are excited and motivated, so you clean the house without it feeling like much of a chore, and you get things packed and prepared, but it can even be fun, because you are about to go on vacation. The joy of what is to come makes you move quickly and causes you to be positive.
Mary's journey would not be easy, especially for a pregnant lady. But out of obedience to God and the joy in her heart, placed there by God, she sets out on her journey. Her journey ends at the home of Zacharias and Elizabeth, an elderly couple with a remarkable story. Elizabeth is pregnant! "These two women meet together and erupt with joy. They're not just joyful because they're both having babies. No. They know the Lord has shown them favor. They know the inside scoop on God's plans for their children. Their joy is supernatural." (Source: Thabiti Anyabwile, Exalting Jesus in Luke)
Some reading today's devotion need a big dose of the joy of Jesus. You need a breakthrough where God intervenes and gives hope and joy. You need the inspiration and motivation that joy brings. No matter your circumstance, however hopeless and impossible you think it is, God can still work miracles in your life. He can bring peace from chaos and joy from hard circumstances. In the meantime, I offer to you what I tell myself: trust God, wait on God, and in his perfect timing, He will take care of whatever we are facing. His ways are not like our ways. He works miraculously. He transforms our situations in such powerful ways that we are no longer in despair but filled with joy.
Isaiah 61:3 says that God gives the oil of joy for mourning. I pray that He does that for you even now.
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