Encourage One Another

Luke 1:39-45 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
 
AS Gabriel steps away to  heaven, Mary steps into life in Nazareth. What might happen next? Would her faithful submission melt away as reality set in? Now that the angel had left her, where would Mary find God’s strengthening encouragement?
    God sent her to Elizabeth. One of God’s impossible signs to Mary is that Mary’s barren cousin Elizabeth was pregnant in her old age.
    Mary goes to Elizabth. Mary finds in Elizabeth a joyous expression of the Lord’s impossible work. Elizabeth overflows with excitement and praise for God’s great work in her and Mary. She personifies God’s grace and love. Through this supernatural – Spirit-anointed – encounter with Elizabeth, Mary is encouraged and strengthened.
    With the voice of a prophet, filled with the Spirit, Elizabeth declares, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!” In that moment God had spoken to Elizabeth just as clearly as he had spoken to Mary. The two women have received the revelation of the Savior to come. Elizabeth’s son, John the Baptist, even in the womb, heralds the way of Mary’s son. Elizabeth’s benediction for Mary expresses God’s sovereign protection over his chosen servant: “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
    We need one another to help us know God will accomplish his purpose when we obey his call. Encouragement is a powerful spiritual gift. It unwraps one’s potential often hidden under uncertainty. “Is this what God wants from me?”
    Elizabeth’s blessed affirmations convinced Mary she could confidently expect the Lord to complete his promise to her and through her. She could confidently confront the upcoming challenges because she was certain God’s hand was on her.
   
Prayer: I seek you, Lord, with anticipation and joy. Thank you for the magnificent life you have purposed for me. Amen.