Heather Cofer

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He Fills the Hungry with Good Things

10 Dec
This is a guest post written by my friend, Natalie Long. In the short time I have known her, I have been blessed by her love for Jesus and her desire for others to know and love Him, too. This beautiful post ministered to my soul, and I pray it will to yours, too.

Every year at Christmas time I’m drawn to Mary’s song, “The Magnificat” in Luke 1.

Mary, a humble servant, favored and blessed, sings of the mercy, goodness, and favor of God. How could Mary, who certainly knew the scrutiny she would face being pregnant and unwed, exalt the Lord and magnify God? How could she consider herself blessed and favored knowing that the baby she would birth and raise was the spotless lamb who would be slaughtered?

Mary could sing and rejoice because she knew who God was, what He had done, and what He was going to do.

The way in which the praises of God effortlessly rolled off Mary’s tongue prove she knew the Scriptures. Because she knew the Word of God and believed His Word, she sang. She sang over her salvation (v.47). She sang over God’s blessings (v.48), and His greatness (v.49). She sang of God’s might (v.49) and His holiness (v.49). She sang of God’s mercy (v.50). She sang of God’s strength (v.51) and sovereignty (v.52). She sang over the way in which He scatters the proud and exalts the humble (v.51). She sang over God’s goodness to fill the hungry with good things (v.53). She sang because she knew God to be a faithful covenant keeper (v.55). She sang because she knew God.  

How can we, like Mary, see past our struggles? How can we be prepared for the trials that are to come? How can we sing the praises of God during life’s hardships? Like Mary, we fill our hearts, souls, and minds with the Word of the Lord. We come before Him hungry, asking Him to fill us with good things. It would be impossible to declare all the wonderful things of God without knowing who He is. We cannot know who the living God is apart from His living Word. 

How do we fill our heart, soul, and minds with God’s Word? 

  • We study it. We commit ourselves to learn the sacred text. 
  • Find a friend or small group and study together. Mary’s life was marked by discipleship. Her knowledge of the Scriptures came from the faithful teaching of friends and relatives. Don’t be afraid to ask someone to help you. 
  • Choose a book of the Bible and stay there. Read repetitively and ask questions of the text. Mary was described twice in Scripture as a woman who pondered and treasured truth in her heart. When you read, slow down, ponder and meditate on God’s Word. Treasure His truths. 

Mary, a young woman who sang with unwavering certainty that nothing is impossible with God, would face what Simeon described as a sword to her soul: the brutal crucifixion of her son and Lord. But being saturated in the promises of God’s Word, she sang because she knew that her earthly son was the eternal King who would bring salvation to those who believe. Mary considered her trials small compared to the sweetness of God’s grace.  

And we, too, can sing a sweet melody of praise for God’s mercy, goodness, and favor. Even in our darkest moments-moments where we feel our soul has been pierced by a sword-we can open the Scriptures and sing a song of gladness over kept promises, God’s sovereignty, His victory over death, and His regard for those who love Him. May we be humble disciples who hunger for the Word and rejoice in the Lord’s faithfulness to fill us with good things.

– Natalie Long


Natalie is a wife and mom and serves as the Women’s Ministry Director at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Hendersonville, NC. She is passionate about teaching women sound theology. Her greatest love, after Jesus and her family, is equipping women to think deeply about the Scriptures. You can find Natalie on Instagram @natalie_long12 or on Facebook. 

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#gratitude #thankful #lookingtoJesus #quotes #sacrificeofpraise #Christcenteredliving
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🪴My hope is in Christ alone
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🪴Just do the next thing in faith
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🪴Live peacefully, quietly, dignified, and godly
🪴What I need is not primarily what Jesus can give, but Jesus Himself
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#ponderings #reminders #lookingtoJesus #livefaithfully #truth #Christcenteredliving
“When we acknowledge our inability to mother our “When we acknowledge our inability to mother our children apart from the Lord’s provision and strength, we honor God. Of course we are not able to do this work of raising children and training them in the instruction of the Lord. That’s why we desperately need the Lord!” - Gloria Furman, ‘Treasuring Christ When Your Hands are Full’
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Too often I fall prey to the lie that it’s up to me alone to mother my children well for God’s glory, and that He looks on in disapproval as I make foibles and need to repent yet again for impatience or laziness. But what hope, what joy that God is honored when we acknowledge that we cannot do this job apart from Him. He is the source of our wisdom and grace for motherhood, and it is in our weakness His strength is shown to be perfect (2 Cor. 12:9). God is ready at every moment to draw near to us as we draw near to Him, acknowledging our lack. He delights to supply all we need with Himself.
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#motherhood #Christcenteredmotherhood #lookingtoJesus #childrenareagift
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You’ve blessed us in more ways than we can count, and your friendship is an incredibly precious gift. I know the Lord will use you to advance His kingdom wherever He calls you. You’ll always have a special place in the Cofer house fam. 💕
Have you ever gotten that funny feeling something Have you ever gotten that funny feeling something is off? When someone you’ve read, followed, and respected for a while seems not as “right on” as you thought, but you can’t quite put your finger on it? It’s not that they’ve totally turned away from God or don’t still say lots of things that are true, but there’s an internal twinge that makes it a little harder to fully get behind them.
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As I’ve wrestled with this more and more, praying over it, reading Scripture, and talking with others, it seems (at least in part) to be this: everything begins to revolve around a theme/cause/platform other than Christ. It might be something good that Christians should care about, but it slowly shifts from being an overflow of their love for Christ to being what their life becomes all about. Jesus is used as a tool for them to support their cause rather than their main emphasis; their All in All.
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This also opens the way for other voices that speak up for the same causes—but are not grounded in truth—to gain a place of influence in their lives. And slowly these voices can become an equal or greater authority than Scripture. It doesn’t happen right away. But you know it’s happening when you see subtle re-shaping of truth, you begin to hear the same language, and you begin to realize the same worldly patterns of thinking.
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None of us are immune to this deception. And that is why it is eternally important that we always, *always* make the Word of God our highest authority. If it becomes us against the Bible in even the “tiniest” way, the Bible must win every time. If we find ourselves trying to contort passages to fit our point of view, we are the ones who are off.
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As Christians, may our lives wholly revolve around and be built upon Christ, because this is our only true hope in life and death.
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#ponderings #lookingtoJesus #Jesusplusnothing #truth #Scripture
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