As in contrast with yesterday’s desperation that I was feeling toward what I was doing and where I was going and feeling disillusioned, so today, in God’s grace, I feel the exact opposite. I feel encouraged by the spirit and I feel confidence in God’s unfailing plan and that whatever is thrown my way it is within his will.
I had all my work checked by my boss this morning. He sat with me for a couple of hours going through all my outstanding work and asking me what position I was in. Its strange, when this has happened before I thought he was picking on me to make me look stupid or just to pick holes in my work, but in fact it is quite the opposite. He was encouraging me and helping me with any problems. We as Christians should do the same thing, take this scripture for example –
1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Quite explicit really, its states that we are to encourage one another in what we are doing and we are to almost assess each other’s situation to be able to give advice based on our own experiences. The bible is literally full of encouragements. In fact 59 references are “Encourage” its self.
Being a Christian can seem lonely sometimes and can definitely feel like its you against the rest of the world which is why it is so important to go to a church, not only to hear God’s word preached, but also to be around other Christians and be encouraged with your walk. We should never assume that we will be fine. When we are alone is when we’re easy pickings for Satan to pick us off.
How often has your conversation gone as follows – “Hi (insert your name), how are you?”, you reply almost instinctively “I’m fine thank you how are you”, they reply “fine thank you…” and the conversation continues about football or computer games (well my conversations do). We should not be afraid to answer, “not so good, I am struggling”. Its one of the fantastic parts of being a Christian and belonging to a Christian community being able to talk to other Christians about God.
Similarly, we shouldn’t just assume that when someone tells us they are fine, we take it as red and carry on. As well as asking for help, we should also be offering that help, whether that be practical help or spiritual encouragement, as Christians, we have a duty to each other to make sure we are being prayed for, that if someone is struggling, they are helped.
I cannot stress enough the importance of being caring towards each other. I know from experience that an unexpected email when you are feeling low with some words of encouragement works absolute wonders in confidence!
I pray that you are being encouraged and that you are giving encouragement in abundance. Take time think about someone you know is struggling and send them an SMS or an email or call them just to let them know they are being prayed for and ask if they need any encouragement or help.
Encouraged by God’s Holy Graces,
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