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No man indeed is an island
By admin | April 30, 2010
Two things have informed this week’s post – one is a revelation from the word of God and the other is a personal experience.
Recording through the book of Luke, we come across the following statement. Luke 1:39
Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,
Have you ever wondered why Mary got up immediately and went to Elizabeth her cousin? Well let’s backtrack a bit and look at Elizabeth’s experience in Luke 1:36
Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For a start, there were differences between the two women. Mary was a young unmarried woman from the tribe of Judah whilst Elizabeth was an old married lady from the Aaronic priesthood
However, they both had supernatural encounters of God that they could each relate to. Mary could share her story about the visitation of the Lord in a way that Elizabeth could relate to. What God was doing in both Mary and Elizabeth’s lives was so precious that they could not share it with just anybody.
Elizabeth had gone through a period of reproach (Luke 1:26) because to be barren In Israel in those days was a sign of reproach. Mary on the other hand, was to go through a similar time or period of reproach. An unmarried woman, who was engaged to Joseph, is being suddenly found to be pregnant.
No doubt Mary would have been greatly blessed by Elizabeth’s situation and vice versa. Remember that Zechariah, Elizabeth’s husband had been made mute by God and so communication was limited! Though Mary would have found some encouragement from her cousin Mary, it was now time for Elizabeth to give birth and for Mary to go back home.
But returned to what? Return to another source of encouragement.
Well again God had stepped in and Joseph in the meantime had an encounter with an angel of God. (Matthew 1:20-24). Joseph, we know had wanted to divorce Mary privately but changed his mind because he had a supernatural experience with God and now he could relate to Mary and somehow now they were in this together.
Mary found encouragement with Elizabeth and Joseph. We all need encouragement and God will always connect us to people that will understand what we are going through.
Now to my personal experience. For the past 2/3 years, I have subscribed to a number of internet marketing newsletters – most of which have provided content and a source of encouragement. I used their tactics to develop an action plan to reach as many people as I could through my writing.
However, at the beginning of the year, every time a newsletter appeared in my inbox, it was deleted even before it was read. Recently, I realised that my subscriber list had not grown as I had anticipated and then I realised that because I was not as encouraged as I used to be and therefore was not acting much.
Reflecting on both of these occurrences, I realised that no man is an island. God would put you in touch with people who will compliment and encourage you. We all need encouragement, particularly from people who have been where we are going or have experienced what we are about to experience.
I pray that God would bring people alongside us along the journey of life that will encourage us.
So until I appear again in your inbox with some more insight into the scriptures, stay blessed
Ola
www.christianbusinessmagazine.com
Topics: encouragement |