Good morning ladies!
What are the things that encourage you most? And who are the people that encourage you regularly? This post comes out on Friday and I’m going to have lunch with my son that day. I’m always happy and encouraged when I get the opportunity to see my children and visit with them. It’s hard to live a big distance from your kids and I feel blessed that I can see both of my children within a day’s drive.
The word encourage means to inspire, promote, reassure, strengthen and restore. We all have days when we need encouraging words to inspire and strengthen us, especially when we are going thru trials. This is why it’s so important to have that network of people who rally around you.
Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:11, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” Paul was speaking to the Christians in Thessalonica but it’s sound advice for everyone. Paul says they are already doing this but he is telling them to keep doing it. He’s pushing positive reinforcement here, praising them for doing it but at the same time desiring they continue to do it.
One of my favorite verses on encouragement is Hebrews 10:24-25 which says, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” This verse tells us that we need to be in church regularly because we need the encouragement of other believers. It shows us that church needs to be that place where love abounds and we get energized to go back out and be that light at work or in our family or community.
I know that it’s easy to want to skip church on Sunday morning. Hey, I’ve already heard the sermon Saturday night and I’m almost always in need of a few more minutes of sleep. But there isn’t really that much to be gained by laying in bed. As I get older, I realize that too much sleep is almost worse than not enough. If there is one day of the week that things will go wrong, it’s Sunday morning. Satan knows how to wreak havoc in every way possible. But don’t let him win, there’s probably a reason he doesn’t want you there, something you need to hear or someone who needs to hear from you.
But church is the one place we really need to be. As much as we need to hear Scripture preached, we also need to be connected to like-minded people. Church atmosphere should be comfortable and accepting, where we can discuss the difficult things we are experiencing and get advice, prayer and encouragement.
Romans 12:8 tells us, “If it is to encourage, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is to lead, let him lead with diligence; if it is to show mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” This verse is talking about spiritual gifts and verifies that encouragement is definitely a God-given gift. However, I also believe that everyone is capable of encouragement even if it’s not their spiritual gift. We can all take the time to listen to and encourage one another. Sometimes just knowing you are not alone in a particular struggle is all that’s needed.
The final verse I’ll share is Hebrews 3:13, which says, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today’, so that none of you may be hardened by sins deceitfulness.” This verse tells us to do it daily, make it a habit. I think this verse may be reminding us to try to put ourselves in the other person’s shoes and encourage them in difficult times. If we don’t try to look from another’s perspective, it gets easy to think they are just making bad choices, wallowing in their hardship or not trying hard enough. The last thing we ever want to do is harden our hearts. Scripture warns of the dangers of hardening ones heart.
We live in a world that loves to drag us down, let’s do our part to build one another up and encourage in difficult circumstances. We’ve all been the one in need of encouragement from time to time and we can probably remember the individuals who strengthened us.
If you haven’t visited our little church on the hill, I would encourage you to do so. It’s worth the drive!
Lori Hug
❤️