Luke 1:28 NKJV — And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
No imagination can truly grasp what Mary must have felt at this moment.
Understandably, she felt confused on how.
Luke 1:34 NKJV — Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
Luke 1:35 NKJV — And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
But her faithfulness to God are evident in her humble response.
Luke 1:38 NKJV — Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
The scriptures tell the next thing she does is go to stay with Elizabeth, whom the angel had told her was with child after being barren all her life.
Upon the meeting, Elizabeth speaks such beautiful words of encouragement.
Luke 1:42-44 NKJV — Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
Luke 1:45 NKJV — “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
And then Mary breaks into song.
Luke 1:46-55 NKJV — And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth 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 on those who fear Him From generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. 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 seed forever.”
What blessed joy these two women shared!
How great is the gift of encouragement!
These two ladies were family members, but their relationship is tied to their individual love and service to God.
They were very different in age.
Elizabeth had been a wife for many years.
Luke 1:7 NKJV — But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.
Mary was a young woman betrothed to her husband. (Luke 1:27)
History tells us, she was most likely in her teens.
Elizabeth lives in the hill country of Judah and Mary was from Nazareth.
Their common bond was God.
For us, who are called by His name, we can gather an important truth.
We need to be encouraging and lifting up one another.
We need godly people who will speak into our lives.
We also need to be those who are godly, speaking words of encouragement.
This relationship between these two Jewish mothers is something worth repeating.
An individual love and devotion to God which comes alongside one another in love and support.
Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank You for all Your wonderous works! How encouraging Your Word is. What beautiful life and truth are to be found! Lord, thank You for these two women and their examples of life lived in service to God. Thank You for those who You have used to speak words of truth and encouragement to me. Please help me to speak words of truth and encouragement to others. Thank You for Your unending love. Amen.
patientlyhopeful 