Hi how are you all? I am well and have just been to an amazing Christian writers conference in my country. It was really good and so friendly and fun. My biggest takeaway was how encouraging everyone is to each other- there is no competition.
It reminds me always of what heaven is going to be like. It will be full of people who love Jesus and God and Holy Spirit regardless of race or denomination. It will be unity wrapped up in the package of Gods children!
This week I want to blog on encouragement as it feels sadly lacking in some parts of the society in which we live. Most of us live each day in competition with each other. Who has the best house? Who is the best parent? Who makes more money? Who is the best in our field of expertise?
Competition! Competition! Competition! It is so exhausting as we will never reach perfection without Jesus and definitely not this side of eternity.
The Bible talks about encouragement and I just want to look at some truths from it. First, however, is what is the definition of encouragement. In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it means: the act of encouraging and that word means: giving hope or promise.
Doesn’t that sound like the world we want to live in. One where everyone gives hope to someone else.
This is what God does with us through the multitude of promises in the Bible. They are not meant to discourage but to encourage- to promise great things.
The other thing I want to note is that the word encourage has courage in it. It takes courage to encourage but it is always worth it.
So let’s look at some verses of encouragement that can encourage both us and others when we share with them.
The first is Isaiah 41:8- 10 (last part) and in the Message Bible it states:
I’ve picked you. I haven’t dropped you.’
Don’t panic. I’m with you.
There’s no need to fear for I’m your God.
I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you.
I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.
This verse is encouraging us not to fear because God is with us, He’ll give us strength, help, steadiness and will hold us up. How many times a week do we need to remind ourselves of this?
For those times in our lives when words shout – you are alone- this verse reminds us that we are never alone. What a great promise!
The next verse is found in Philippians 4:6-7 and in the Message Bible it states:
6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
How many times a day do we worry instead of praying? Many times if you are like me. We need to remember that fear is false evidence appearing real. So if it is false, we should recognise it as not the truth.
The verses talk about Gods wholeness coming upon us. What does that mean? In other versions it states peace. What if we lived our lives in peace instead of fear and encouraged others to do the same. This can only come fully when we have a deep trust in God.
The last verse for today is found in Proverbs 3:5- 12 (first part) and in the Message Bible, it states:
5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Encouragement comes through a deep trust in God. It is the kind of trust where it states in the second line above where we don’t have to figure everything out on our own.
We need to listen to the voice of God. Other voices can be screaming at us but most times those voices are not truth, are not encouraging and are false evidence. What if we trained ourselves to hear from God? You can do it- just still yourself and listen for the words I love you. It may sound like you but it is coming from your spirit.
In 1 Samuel 30:6 in the Message Bible it states that David strengthened himself with trust in his God.
This is what we need to do for us and be this voice for others.
This week find someone to encourage and see what happens. It may become part of your daily walk with God.
Bless you and keep living the life God intended.
Karen
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