Day 5 & 6: Leaping

³⁹ At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah’s home 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 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”


This is interesting. Scripture doesn't tell us how long after getting the Good News that Mary went to visit Elizabeth, but "at that time" implies pretty quickly. I think going to see Elizabeth had more to do with her own pregnancy than Elizabeth's. The angel told her that Elizabeth was pregnant as well. Maybe seeing it with her own eyes was confirmation in her mind that the angel was indeed not a dream.

So off she went.

When she got there, Elizabeth's baby leaped in her! In fact, it says all she hears is a greeting. It wasn't even sight, but the mere sound of Mary caused this baby to know Who she was carrying. When Elizabeth realizes this, she was filled with the Holy Spirit. If confirmation is what Mary needed, this was it. She called Mary blessed among women, and the "Mother of my Lord". And notice, this was not a calm exchange. This was not an inside voice conversation. This was Elizabeth realizing without anything but the faith of her unborn baby that this was the Son of God. And what happened? She went nuts. All it took was a voice, and she had to praise the baby she'd never met. The baby who she had no idea would lay down His life for her.

I focused in on that one fact: all it took was being around Mary. When we surround ourselves with people who are strong in faith (or in this case are carrying God's Son) we ourselves are transformed just by being there.
I've always believed in surrounding myself with people smarter than I am. It makes me smarter over time. But the same applies in my walk with God. I try to surround myself closest with those who I plainly see Christ in. Just by being around those people, who I'm immensely blessed by, it makes my faith stronger. It makes me walk closer to God. When I've said this in the past, people always think I'm being pious. That by seeing Christ in these folks, I myself have to walk closely with God. Not at all. This story is proof. The unborn baby knew. A lot of times, I'm lucky enough to be like that unborn baby. I don't know a thing about this life, except that God's in the same room I am.

I have to think both Mary and Elizabeth were amazed in this situation. Mary probably didn't know to say. She hadn't gotten past a greeting and Elizabeth knew why she was there. What a humbling feeling she must have had. Here, her own relative doesn't think herself worthy that she should visit with her.
And then Elizabeth finishes with encouragement. "Blessed is she who believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" I suppose belief is the hardest part. It's not just a faith or just by Spirit. It's God in action requiring you to be active.

So in that moment of God's presence, take a lesson from John the Baptist: Leap.

Hey God,
Sometimes I feel unworthy to be in Your presence. Actually, it's not sometimes. It's more times than not. But I want to thank You that You think I'm worth the price. That while I may leap because You're with me, I know You're just as excited that I noticed. Lord, let me just rest in that knowledge.
Amen.