Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises.

Yesterday, Cameron touched upon Elizabeth, the friend and family member whom Mary, the mother of Jesus, ran to the moment she found out that she was pregnant.

Cameron shared how God strategically placed Elizabeth in Mary’s life as an older, wiser and godly friend. I would like to dwell on that a little bit more and focus on five specific things that made Elizabeth such a great friend.

1. She was filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41). When I am about to meet a friend, I like to ask the Holy Spirit to fill my heart so my words will overflow with encouragement and the love of God.

2. She was humble. Elizabeth, though she was older than Mary and the wife of a respected priest, deemed Mary higher than herself when she exclaims, “Why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:42-43 NIV). This is a sign of true humility (Philippians 2:3).

3. She was encouraging. As soon as she saw Mary, she said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! […] Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!” (Luke 1:42,45 NIV). She did not focus on all the potential problems, but chose to speak life and blessing over her friend.

4. She was full of faith and did not judge. Although Mary was pregnant before marriage, Elizabeth did not judge her. In fact, apart from Joseph, she may have been the only person to believe Mary was carrying the Son of God and praised her for trusting God’s promises (Luke 1:42-43,45).

5. She was selfless and caring. Although Elizabeth was old and pregnant, she selflessly looked after and cared for Mary for three months (Luke 1:56). 

Ask God today to show you how you can be an Elizabeth-like friend to someone near you.

Hey! You are a Chamatkar.