I began my last small group meeting by asking the question, “Who is your ‘Elizabeth’”? Knowing this is a loaded question, I wanted the attendees to either land quickly on a person with whom they can bear their soul, or be reminded that their souls still long for this kind of connection with another godly woman.

In Luke 1, Mary runs to Elizabeth following her encounter with Gabriel and the divine filling of her womb. Mary is seeking a soul-bearing moment. Elizabeth is able to peer into Mary’s soul through the look in her eyes. Two souls connect and the Spirit moves. Faith transcends fear and, consequently, Mary is set free to worship.

We all need this kind of friend. We need a conduit for confession of fear, doubt, and sin to flow heavenward toward the river of life and forgiveness. We need an Elizabeth-like one who will ride the waves with us all the while pointing us to the One who washes us clean.

In When Only Faith Remains I write, “Living with a secret eating disorder made it harder for me to form attachments with people.” Living with fear, insecurities, and hidden sin makes it hard to form meaningful attachments because you are always holding back a piece of yourself from those you love. Yet, we all suffer from sin and the fear of being “found out”.

Although we are hard-wired for relationship, why do we often struggle with friendships and beyond surface level connections?

In Holiness, Truth and the Presence of God, Francis Frangipane writes, “Sin wears a cloak of deception. Therefore, the first stage … involves the exposure of our hearts to truth and the cleansing of our hearts from lies … once the Spirit breaks the power of deception in our lives, He can break the power of sin.”

We are deceived by sin and out of that deception we fear the exposure of our hearts to truth. This is exactly why Mary runs to Elizabeth. This is exactly why we need an “Elizabeth”. 

Buried underneath the deception of sin, we crave soul-bearing moments. We need friends who are able to peer into our soul through the look in our eyes, because when two souls connect, the Spirit moves. Faith will transcend fear and we will be set free to worship.

Do you have an “Elizabeth“? If not, start praying. God wants you to have a soul-bearing sister or brother in Christ. He wants to answer this prayer.

Then ask Him, what does it take to be an “Elizabeth” to another woman?