Elizabeth helped Mary find joy

Mary desperately needed the faith, affirmation and joy that Elizabeth, who was also living with an unexpected pregnancy, gave her. Elizabeth summed it up by saying, “Happy is she who believed that the Lord would fulfill the promises he made to her” (verse 45). Mary began her response with, “With all my heart I glorify the Lord!” Elizabeth’s contagious joy gave Mary what she had hurried to receive.

• Even before Jesus was born, Elizabeth was the first person (of millions or billions) to call him “Lord”: “Why do I have this honor, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (verse 43) (Later, it was also women who first shared the news of Jesus’ resurrection.) Do you call Jesus “Lord”? If so, in what ways has Jesus’ lordship changed your life, and brought a different kind of joy into it? If not, what is stopping you from joining the family of faith who call him Lord?
• “The courage and strength of [Mary and Elizabeth] provide encouragement for all who are called to bear new life into the world, whether through childbirth, creative leadership, healing work, friendship or any other vocation. When what we are to do seems impossible, overwhelming, or frightening, remember the words of Elizabeth to Mary.”* When you face a God-given task that seems impossible, overwhelming or frightening, how can you recall and apply Elizabeth’s words?

The Journey: A Season of Reflections

Today’s Insights blog was chapter 15, “How Mary Found Her Joy,” from The Journey: A Season of Reflections, by Adam Hamilton. Copyright © 2011 by Abingdon Press, and available on our website for 24 hours by permission of Abingdon Press. If you’d like to buy the entire book of reflections, you can click here for a direct link to the Cokesbury sale page, as well as other Journey resources.