Luke 1:56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
Mary and Elizabeth were amazing cousins. Elizabeth was much more older than Mary; they would not have grown up together, hung out in the shopping malls or spent sleepover in each other’s house as kids. Elizabeth might have even been married before Mary was born! She was the wife of Zechariah the priest, who served in the temple and they were highly honoured yet, Elizabeth received Mary, respected her divine encounter and encouraged her in the divine journey. Gabriel, the Archangel who brought the message about the miracle also gave Mary instructions to spend her first trimester with her cousin Elizabeth who was already in her third trimester. When the cousin sisters met, Elizabeth and the baby in the womb rejoiced, blessed and prophesied. Luke 1:44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
We live in a world where it is difficult to find relationships, fellowships or cousinship that would rejoice about our divine experiences, nurture divine encounters or destiny dreams. We cannot and should not share the dream that we are pregnant, with everyone. A pregnant woman is more susceptible to abort her pregnancy in the first trimester hence, Mary was directed into the safe haven and hands of a compassionate, trustworthy and honourable cousin Elizabeth. When we are pregnant with Godly dreams and divine destiny we must incubate our pregnancy in the warmth of saintly cousinship. Wrong company will abort our young fetus.
Three virtues that will help us to recognise Godly cousinship and relationship:
1. Rejoice: Carefully choose cousins, sisters and friends who would genuinely rejoice in your miracle, message and mandate. As soon as Elizabeth saw Mary she rejoiced and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! (Luke 1:42). Those who advise us to abort the dream that we are pregnant with are envious, astringent and annoyed. Incubating the dream until it grows to take a form, shape and figure is extremely important. Godly relationships will be like midwife who will monitor, mentor and medicate the early stages of pregnancy.
2. Reinforce: Not everyone will rejoice when you receive a divine direction or dream. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, hence she did not see Mary as a teenage cousin but an honourable vessel who was pregnant with the plan and purpose of God. Hence she received Mary with compassion, joy and reverence. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41). The reception and the recitation will reveal the heart of a person. Godly relationships will reinforce and bless our dream, direction and destiny.
3. Reassure: Godly relationships will repeat what God has spoken in your private prayer closet in the public prophetical prayer meeting. They will not talk about impossibilities of man but the possibilities and the nature of God. Elizabeth said, Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (Luke 1:45). Be with people who will reassure, encourage and reiterate the promises and prophecies that will lead you to your destiny not those who will discourage and derail you.
Godly relationships are those who will rejoice in our success, reassure the promises and prophecies and reinforce our dreams.
Luke 1:38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”
Prayer: Dear Jesus, let me be surrounded by those who nurture me spiritually and remove those who try to abort my divine dream and destiny. Amen
Leave a Reply