July 8, 2020
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” Roman 15:4
Truett Cathy was asked, “How do you know if a man or woman needs encouragement?”
He answered, “If they are breathing they need encouragement.”
Every one of us needs encouraging. When we are encouraged we feel better and have more energy to complete whatever our task might be. When I am down and out and someone comes along and encourages me to keep my head up, it works. Even when I am depressed or stressed a helpful word that it will get better or it is not the end of the world helps me to find perspective.
Too often we go through life with no encouragement. We find people constantly complaining about the work we either did or didn’t do. We find that it seems like every time something goes wrong it falls on me. We are constantly looking at the glass half empty instead of half full. Yet often when someone comes along and helps us see the brighter side of the equations it gives us a better perspective.
Children that are encouraged at home are much better at living life as they become adults than children who are constantly told they will never cut it or will never make the grade. Most children who are told they will fail normally do. Yet a child that is encouraged to do their best and succeed normally does.
Sometimes I believe we need encouragement at church. We need to know we can succeed in sharing the gospel and reaching the lost. Often we get ourselves caught in a rut of we will never grow. We will never change. Yet what if we began seeing it differently. What if we began saying we can change and we can grow. What if we were encouraged to reach others instead of just hoping it will happen?
Paul’s words are inspirational. Hear them again, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” Let’s read the scriptures and be encouraged that Jesus is not finished with His church. We can do it together and we can have hope.
Dear Lord, Give us the courage to believe. Help us to put our trust in you so that we can know that you can use us to be something special in your Kingdom. We need to be encouraged to see you in our midst so that we can share you with our community and our world. May we be encouraged to give others the hope that you have given us. In Jesus name, Amen.
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