Encourage Others

Pop quiz: Name a relative or a friend who has encouraged you lately. Got somebody in mind? Yes? No? Maybe? It's a question that I thought about this past Sunday at church. My Sunday school class at MeadowBrook Baptist began going through the Gospel of Luke. The lesson focused on chapter one of Luke, in which the angel Gabriel foretold the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. John would be the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, who "were righteous in God's eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord's commandments and regulations" (Luke 1:6). Before God blessed them with the birth of John, "they had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old" (Luke 1:7). On the other hand, Mary, who happened to be Elizabeth's cousin, was very young, probably a teenager when she received the news that she would give birth to the Son of God.

A few days after Mary is told this Good News, she travels approximately 100 miles (at least a 4 day journey at that time) to see Elizabeth. "At the sound of Mary's greeting, Elizabeth's child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, 'God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said'" (Luke 1:41). Did you hear how encouraging, uplifting, and honoring Elizabeth was toward Mary? Her words encourage Mary to give praise to God, which she does through a song of praise called the Magnificat in verses 46 - 55.

Elizabeth basically put into practice what Hebrews 10:24 tells us to do for each other. "Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds." The encouraging is not so that we all can think highly of ourselves and get a big head, but its end goal is to glorify God and magnify what He has done. Through Elizabeth's encouraging words toward Mary, God received glory and praise.

A song called "More Than You'll Ever Know" by the group Watermark really paints a good picture of Hebrews 10:24. As you read the lyrics, who are the first couple of people that come to mind?

Something brought you to my mind today
I thought about the funny ways you make me laugh
And yet I feel like it's okay to cry with you
Something about just being with you
When I leave I feel like I've been near God
And that's the way it ought to be...

CHORUS:
'Cause you've been more than a friend to me
You fight off my enemies
'Cause you've spoken Truth over my life
And you'll never know what it means to me
Just to know you've been on your knees for me
Oh, you have blessed my life
More than you'll ever know,
More than you'll ever know,

You had faith, when I had none
You prayed God would bring me a brand new song
When I didn't think I could find the strength to sing
And all the while I'm hoping that I'll
Do the kind of praying for you that you've done for me
And that's the way it ought to be...

You have carried me
You have taken upon a burden that wasn't your own
And may the blessing return to you
A hundredfold

Now that you have thought about those people who are the "Elizabeth's" in your life, make the choice to be that in other people's lives. And it is a choice we have to make daily, because it will not come naturally in our sinful flesh. We like to be honored, but we don't like to shower honor and blessings on others all the time. But, I want to strive to be that kind of person. Let's all be creative and "think of ways" to bless and encourage others, so that they would glorify our God in heaven.