Luke 1:41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
In today’s verse, we travel back in time to a meeting between Mary and her cousin Elizabeth. Both women were pregnant and both pregnancies were miraculous. Mary was a pregnant virgin and Elizabeth was well past the age of child bearing and had been barren for years. Yet both women miraculously conceived. In this passage, Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth. Upon greeting her, Elizabeth’s baby (John the Baptist) leaped for joy in her womb, recognizing the presence of the unborn Savior of our world.
And then another miraculous thing happened. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She recognized Mary’s pregnancy as something extraordinary and miraculous and when she was filled with the Holy Spirit she gave a prophecy and blessing to both mother and unborn child. We can imagine how difficult things must have been for Mary, now pregnant and unable to hide that fact. She probably faced judgement and ridicule with no one believing her miraculous story. But not Elizabeth. Elizabeth welcomed her and blessed her. She accepted her and her unborn baby, recognizing them for the greatness surrounding their circumstances.
What an amazing experience that must have been, first to be pregnant despite the circumstances, to have your unborn baby move in a way that is not common in pregnancy (it literally says he leaped so we know it is more than just normal movement), and then being filled with the Spirit and suddenly being able to prophesize. It is beyond my imagination what Elizabeth experienced upon meeting her younger cousin.
So what does all of this have to do with you? Like Mary you may feel like everyone is judging you. But there are people like Elizabeth who see you, love you, and want to bless you in your efforts. God loves you and He wants to bless you. You, too, can be filled with the Holy Spirit. We cannot let the world destroy our faith, our self esteem, our worth. We are children of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit, directly linked to God through Jesus. Remember that. Cherish it. LIVE it. Do like Elizabeth did when she was filled – shout blessings on others and shower them with love and acceptance.
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