Who would you call?

December 12th, 2020

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”  Luke 1:39-45, NIV

Up to this point in the story, Mary had a lot of problems to deal with. Joseph was about to divorce her and only refrained when he was told otherwise by an angel! Other than Joseph, most people didn’t know about the pregnancy. Mary held this secret in her womb. If people found out she was pregnant outside of marriage, she could face enormous trouble. All that to say: she was carrying a lot, and most likely carrying it by herself. Imagine the moment when she went to see Elizabeth and was received with nothing but praise and encouragement. 

There are not enough Elizabeths in the world. Life is hard and can be at times overwhelming—and that’s before God shows up and sends you on a mission that will make everyone question your sanity. We need people who will listen, support and encourage. 

How do you model this kind of supportive listening?

Who can you call, email, text or talk to that you can say an encouraging word to? Does someone come to mind? If so, stop what you’re doing and act on it!

Prayer: God, the One who encourages, send someone my way to be an encouragement to me, and help me reach out and speak to someone to be encouragement to them. Amen.