Luke 1:26-45 NASB
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, [27] to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. [28] And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” [29] But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. [30] The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. [32] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; [33] and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” [34] Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” [35] The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. [36] And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. [37] For word will be impossible with God.” [38] And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. [39] Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, [40] and entered the house of Zacharias 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] And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! [43] And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? [44] For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. [45] And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”
During this season of Advent we once again mystically enter in to the anticipation of the coming of the Messiah. Even though we know from this side of the Nativity how things happened, somehow we are able to live joyfully anticipating the arrival of the Christ child, as if it was just now about to happen in time and space. In light of that, I thought that I would quote these verses daily and look at new things that the Holy Spirit wants to show us through these great advent scriptures. What I want to look at today is a wonderful truth that we can glean from Mary’s visit with her cousin Elizabeth. When the angel Gabriel was announcing to Mary this miracle that she was going to be participating in, Mary asked the simple question in light of being a virgin, “how.” The Holy Spirit’s answer to Mary was a very simple one; God was going to perform a miracle, and do the impossible. Having told her that, to encourage her, the angel told her that her cousin Elizabeth who had been barren her entire life was now miraculously pregnant in her old age, and she was now 6 months pregnant. Mary’s response to the angel was, “Behold the bondservant of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.” When the angel departed, we are told that Mary rose up and went in a hurry to the hill country to be with her cousin Elizabeth, and when Elizabeth saw her she cried out with a loud voice and said in verse 45, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”
Mary’s story of being miraculously pregnant by the Holy Spirit was a pretty ridiculous one, and I’m sure that those around her would have a hard time believing it, for even Joseph her betrothed did not believe it until the angel came to him in the middle of the night and convinced him. I believe Mary left her environment quickly to go be with Elizabeth because she knew that Elizabeth knew what it was to believe for and experience the miraculous activity of the Holy Spirit in her life. Elizabeth knew the warfare surrounding trusting God for the supernatural, and that is why she congratulated Mary in verse 45 for believing. When the angel Gabriel announced to Mary heaven’s intentions, I believe that if Mary had rejected it because it sounded too ridiculous, God would’ve simply chosen someone else who was childlike enough to believe. Mary was blessed because she believed, just like Elizabeth with blessed because she believed. The point I’m wanting you to see is that it is important, if you desire to live the supernatural life that Jesus has called us to live in union with him and his life, then you must spend time with others who believe for the supernatural. The whole of Christianity; our interior life, and our external ministries are the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit making real in and through us the life of Christ.. We can afford to hang out with people who only see through the grid of natural and carnal eyes. Mary didn’t need to spend those early months around people who would mock and degrade such childlike faith for the impossible. Mary was a young girl and Elizabeth was a trusted cousin who was much older than her who had walked with the Lord for many years, and I believe God used Elizabeth during the 3 months that Mary stayed with her to prepare her for all that she would be facing in the days and years ahead. If you are believing God for a miracle, then it is important that you rise up and quickly choose to spend time with others who have experienced the miraculous in their own life, and will celebrate, and nurture the childlike faith you are walking in, believing for your own miracle.