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

Probably one of the riskiest and “out-there” things I have done is plan the first Back the Blue Idaho rally in October of 2020. It was in the middle of COVID and in the middle of a “defund the police” movement. Police departments were being blamed for crime and/or a few rogue cops. Blame was being assigned even before all the evidence was in. My heart hurt for these officers who put their lives on the line for me and my family every day. And God asked me to hold a big rally, one that would host over a thousand people. During COVID, in order to social distance, we had to reserve a space designed to hold over 13,000 people. We had six weeks and once God convinced me he was all in, I decided to do it. I signed checks to pay for bills that were over $20,000. I was not sure how I was going to get reimbursed for these. But God provided. He provided the confirmation that I needed that he was in the middle of all of this work. Literally daily, I would get calls from some who wanted to donate money, who just moved here, and others who wanted to volunteer time in bookkeeping and planning. Still others who donated their band or equipment. This was God confirming his work and his provision in advance for me.

When I think about Mary visiting Elizabeth; and the baby, John the Baptist, jumping in his mother’s womb at the presence of Jesus, the word “confirmation” comes to mind.

Sometimes, when a road or path is going to be a hard one, God puts faith markers in place for us to know tangibly he is with us. For Mary this was a faith marker for the future when: they had to flee to Egypt, when Jesus was persecuted, when he was arrested, tortured, and hung on a tree. God provided this confirmation for her of his hand in it all. And she trusted him.

What faith markers has God put out there in your past, that you can look back on and gain confidence in his presence now? How has he shown himself to you?

Lord, thank you for your great ways of reinforcing our faith in the battle with these touches from your hand. Miracles, provisions, unexplainable events, etc. show us that you are real and that you are here in our midst. Praise you for them!