Encouragement

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What a wonderful God we have, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy, and the one who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials. And why does He do this? So that when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on the same help and comfort God has given to us.
(2Co 1:3-4)

Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord's coming is getting closer.
(Heb 10:25)



During worship one Sunday I heard something that unexpectedly lifted my spirits and gave a healing touch to my body and soul; like a soft harp in an empty cathedral or distant children’s laughter or a bird’s song at twilight: it was the sound of a women’s voice raised in worship. It was neither slick nor professional. Rather, it was simple, pure and beautiful. Like a child singing a new song she had learned for her father. So touched was I by the sound that I wrote her a note of thanks, explaining how she had touched my heart and spirit. Afterward she told me it was the most beautiful note she had ever received. This both blessed and saddened me; blessed because my words were an encouragement to her and saddened because my feeble thanks should not have been close to the most beautiful note she had ever received. And it made me wonder: why do we not find more time, either by note or word, to encourage one another? After all, Our Lord in His word commands it. Plus I know from experience that I can live for weeks off of one simple word of encouragement. I also know that my heart swells when my words have encouraged another. I would submit to you that it is nothing more than simple selfishness. Not the kind that the word immediately conjures up, the kind that exalts self over all; but rather the subtle selfishness that is born in the blackened heart of our Deceiver Enemy. Those little whispered deceptions, those “reasonable reasons” why we haven’t the time to sooth a hurt or lift the spirits of a brother or neighbor. “Of course, you would like to help, but you’re just too busy. They’ll understand. Maybe next time,” he convinces you. “ You’re not unfeeling, after all. You’re just too busy. You have your job, shopping, laundry, soccer practice, ballet.” And then the greatest deception of all…your church work. Oh, how wonderfully busy we can get with our church work: Ministry to another nation while your neighbor languishes in loneliness. Reaching the “lost natives” while members of your own congregation suffer alone. Your time consumed by faces you may never see, even as you are blind to the desperate eyes of a brother or sister sitting right next to you. What, then? Should we abandon missions? God forbid! But can we not also find time to touch the hearts of those whose shoulders brush by ours every day? Satan knows that the best way to conquer a soul, Christian and non-Christian alike, is to isolate it. Sometimes he does it dramatically through depression and fear; but more often through loneliness and busyness. The antidote is Christian Community. He fears that the most. For what power could he possibly have against a community of encouragers? A people who belong to each other, pray for each other and are willing to sacrifice time, talent and treasure for each other and the world around them. We must reject the enemy’s lies and deceptions and with them all those “reasonable reasons” why we haven’t the time to love one another. It is a yoke upon our necks. Yank it off and in its place put on the robe of Barnabas (the son of encouragement). It is easier than you may think. Look around your congregation, your workplace, your school or your neighborhood. You won’t have to look long before your eyes fall on someone who has blessed you in some way…tell him or her by word or a note. Or someone who could use a sympathetic ear or a helping hand… give it by word or deed. We are the Body of Christ. Be His mouth…teach and bless. Be His hands…heal and help. Be His legs and walk with them. Be his eyes and weep with them. Be His heart and love them. We need to make the Great Commission or greatest mission. The simple truth is: if you are saved…you are sent. Our God doesn’t open doors so we can peer through them. He opens them so we can walk through them. He schedules “divine appointments” for us every day. The sad truth is that all too often we fail to keep them. The “God question” out of the blue from our neighbor, the friend who suddenly shares, in tears, about his failing marriage, the person next to you on the bus who asks about your bible…these are all divine appointments. We need to be flexible enough to change our plans for God’s plans. Turn off the ballgame and pray with a brother. Nix the television and visit with a friend. Change your plans so that God can change someone’s life. And remember the natural progression of the Great Commission: Jerusalem first, then Samaria, then the uttermost parts of the earth. What does that mean for us today: Simply put, our two families (Blood & Christian) first, then our friends & neighbors, then other cultures (national & international). For how can we reach a nation if we ignore a friend? And how can we set the captives free in Afghanistan when our own neighbor is in chains? Walk the path of Barnabas and you will be a world-changer. And it all can begin with a simple note. Picture this: a brother or a sister who is overwhelmed by life and circumstances. In desperation they open their bible, hoping to find a miracle and out pops a note that slowly floats to the floor…your note. They begin to read it and slowly the lines in their face begin to soften into a smile. Suddenly they no longer feel powerless and alone. And all it took was a simple word of encouragement scribbled on a piece of paper.

Need a pen?

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