December 10, 2020

Today’s Hope
Written by Guest Writer, Joy Mathis Chadwick

“And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.” Luke 1:36-38
As if visiting with an angel wasn’t miracle enough, Mary probably also witnessed the birth of John The Baptist. The scriptures don’t specifically tell us that Mary was with her cousin Elizabeth when her baby was born; however, we do know for sure that Mary was visited by the angel and hurriedly left to visit Elizabeth; scriptures then tell us that Elizabeth was six months pregnant and Mary stayed with her for three months; the math is pretty easy to figure out.
It’s always so comforting to have a friend or special family member come for a visit, so I’m quite sure that Mary and Elizabeth had a lot of “girl bonding” time. Can you just imagine the conversation that took place as Mary told Elizabeth about the meeting she had with the angel! (I can only imagine that Elizabeth must have longed for someone to talk to, especially since Zachariah had been silenced until their baby was to be born; however, although some wives might consider this a curse, some might see it as a blessing!) But what is so sweet, so precious about her news is that Mary had already told the angel, “May it be to me as you have said.” (NIV) She didn’t have a clue (probably) what she was getting herself into, but she agreed to birth the Son of God. And then something else so very sweet and so very precious: “ … 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!” Luke 1:41-42 NIV How this must have strengthened Mary’s faith. Even though Mary’s own pregnancy must have seemed impossible, Elizabeth also believed in the Lord’s faithfulness and rejoiced with Mary.
Even though Elizabeth’s pregnancy was also miraculous due not only to her advancing age and years of inability of being able to conceive, she could have envied Mary, whose Son would be even greater than her own. But instead she was filled with joy that the mother of her Lord would visit her! Sometimes it might be easy for us to look at someone else’s gift and be envious; envious of someone whom God had apparently singled out for a special blessing. But the sure cure for even the least bit of jealousy is to rejoice with those people, as Elizabeth did with Mary. God has a plan. He uses His people in ways that are best suited to His purpose.
Yes, an angel spoke directly to Mary and told her about what God was going to do with her life. I feel quite sure that we all sometimes think that it would be so much easier if God would just send us someone or something, some sign, of what He wants for our lives. But He already did that! He has given us His Word, spelled out in black and white. Promise after promise after promise! He has made provisions for every aspect of our lives; all we have to do is read His word. And then may we all have the conviction to say to our Almighty Father, “May it be to me as you have said.” Yes, Lord! I’ll claim that promise! Yes, Lord! I’ll follow! Yes, Lord! I’ll trust your word!