This week marks the third week of the 2014 Advent Season. We’ve put together four Advent posts—one for each week. We hope they help put you in the Christmas mindset. Check out the third post:

Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
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.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Luke 1:46-55 (ESV)

As the third week of Advent begins, rejoice! Today, you will light the candle of joy on your wreath, along with the candles of hope and love.

Joy comes from the confidence of knowing that God cares for us. He cares for us so much, in fact, He sent his only son, Jesus, so He could be with us… so He could comfort us… so we would know that He loves us. When our joy is rooted in this knowledge, we can be joyful regardless of our circumstances.

Read Mary’s song of praise. She says, “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Consider her circumstances when she sang this song of praise. She was a young virgin engaged to be married when an angel appeared to her to tell her she would give birth to the Son of God. She likely felt afraid and worried. But even in her uncertainty, her spirit rejoiced.

So whether things are going smoothly and we feel happy or we are discouraged and in great need of God’s comfort, we can follow Mary’s example. We can take joy in knowing he is with us at all times. Immanuel, God with us. He drew near to us to relieve our worries because He loves us. When we trust in that, we are free to be joyful in all things.

What are some ways you can share this joy with others this week?