When I was very young and full of idealism, I found myself in a tough place, far from home and family. Money was in short supply, our baby son was desperately ill, and nothing was going as I had hoped. God brought a man named Tom Johnson, who was not rich nor in the best of circumstances himself, into my life. He consistently poured out encouraging words, matched with sincere concern. God used that man to keep me from giving up on ministry!
There was a conversation with a veteran pastor on a cold November, 1987, morning in a coffee shop in Lancaster, PA that stands as a pivotal moment in my memory. My confidence and faith were shattered by disappointing developments in life. This man offered to listen without criticizing me, prayed with me, and restored my faith in the One who is our Hope and Confidence.
While I was pastoring a church in Massachusetts, a woman named Sherry Mallory was a gift from God whose notes of affirmation seemed to show up on the most difficult days when I was fighting through a bout of depression. She never knew what lifeline she was in that time. How I thank God for the words, gifts, and prayers that have offered to me bringing encouragement at just the right moments!
The Scripture urges us to adopt the work of encouragement as a calling of God. Take a look. "Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near." (Hebrews 10:23-25, NLT)
Though we see the same word "encourage" used twice in that passage, the Greek text (original language of the New Testament) uses differing verbs.
In the first instance, "think of ways to encourage one another" the word is one that has a rather negative implication. One translation says, "provoke" instead of encourage! Another says, "Spur one another on!" Sometimes we need somebody to give us a kick in the seat of the pants, a wake up call. We need to be encouraged not with comfort but with confrontation. Getting in someone's face when they are failing to live up to God's purposes or when they are headed for disaster is a loving act of encouragement that just might irritate them to faithfulness!
In the second instance, the word has more positive implications. In other translations we read it translated as "exhort." We must take note of the needs of those around us and offer words of comfort and consolation, affirmation and hope, like my illustrations above. With genuine empathy, we come alongside of the struggling one to give them our help, infusing them with strength. In so doing, we will help them to remain steady, to stay in the Way with Jesus.
You want to be blessed today? Look for opportunities to encourage. Let others be the critic, you be the one who leads the cheers!
Be sincere in your concern, allowing the Spirit to work through you and watch how others respond. At first they may regard your encouragement with some skepticism because it is such a rare gift. They may think you're trying to manipulate them or use them for your own purposes. But encourage anyway - with honest words, with simple prayers, with affirmation.
Reflect on this passage as you go through this day.
"All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us." (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, The Message)
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