Skip to main content

Encouragement

Encouragement is super important. There are a lot of sad and lonely people in this world that could use a hardy dose of encouragement. Girls long to hear words of support from their fathers, husbands look for respect from their wives, boys want a man to confirm their manhood, and children long for expressions of affection. People from all walks of life seek encouragement.
      The problem with encouragement is that it is often preyed upon by flattery. Flattery is what you hear most often when people want approval. Flattery sounds nice but it really isn’t because flattery is actually a expression of a self-seeking person looking for something that will benefit himself.   
      Encouragement, on the other hand, is for the benefit of the person it is directed to. Encouragement does not always show itself in kind words, but also in actions and sometimes words that reprehend. Because encouragement is not self-seeking it doesn’t mind if it looks a little foolish now and again. Encouragement is Godly, while flattery is sinful.
      I’ve come to realize the encouragement is more than just saying something that makes someone feel good about himself. Encouragement is directing people to THE Encourager, God.  When someone is having a bad day encouragement is more than saying “it’ll be okay” its saying “trust God, He’s working everything out for your good and His glory”. Encouragement clothes herself with different colors and styles. Sometimes encouragement is silent and sometimes she’s bubbly, sometimes she speaks kindly and sometimes she harshly warns against evil, sometimes she helps those in need and sometimes she let’s others help her.
      If you look around you today you will quickly see that there are lots of people who need a smile to help get them through the day. I hope you look for opportunities to cloth yourself with encouragement and see how God uses you to make a difference.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Body Image (1)

Contentedly situated in lawn chairs with our toes in the sand and the baby playing on a blanket at our feet, my friend and I watch her girls digging holes or running between the beach and the lake. Periodically, the girls run up to us to display the shells and rocks they've found. At one point, as the girls surround us, one of us adults comments on the baby being chubby (which she is, as a baby should be) after which one of the girls looks at me and says, "you're kind of chubby." She wasn't trying to be rude or smart, she was just being bluntly observant as children are. As I looked at I her and considered an answer, I thought of the baggage of body image that women have carried for generations, and I thought, I don't want her to carry this baggage too. I want better for her.   I replied, "you know, being a little chubby is actually a good thing. Our bodies function better and it helps keep us warm." This deep lesson was probably lost on her as she s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Surprise Sin

Over Easter weekend I had the opportunity to visit my grandparents. We caught up over soup and egg salad sandwiches and then migrated to the living room with cups of tea. Gradually the conversation turned to a couple young siblings from their church whom they've observed seldom fight. Sometimes these kids do get angry or annoyed with each other and then they fight, but that is not their normal relationship. My grandfather made this observation, "isn't that just like sin? You are living your life of obedience and then all of a sudden its like sin gets the better of you." It was a comforting statement coming from my elderly grandfather who has been walking with the Lord for over 80 years. Even as a seasoned saint, sin still creeps up on him. But it has also made me think quite a bit. Sometimes I am tempted to think that if I do everything right (regular devotions, get enough sleep, listen to good music, eat well, have Christian fellowship, exercise) then I won't fal...
Post a Comment
Read more

Delayed Grief

 Grief is a crazy thing. Sometimes you cry till you fall asleep, sometimes you're angry, sometimes you can't feel anything, and sometimes you're so, so tried. Grief is also unpredictable in that it can take a long time to heal...and sometimes it feels like its been healed and then you're crying on your way home from the grocery store and you aren't even sure why. Grief is not logical and polite and convenient. It interrupts our lives on its terms. A couple mornings ago I was thinking about how tired I am. I'm not weepy or angry or even really sad, just tired, and this tiredness is physical, mental, and emotional. Which surprises me because my life is actually really great and I haven't had anything in recent months to be sad about. However, the more I contemplated it,  I think the tiredness is a long term symptom of a deep sadness that I lived in a couple years ago. Which is the first thing I wanted to share with you. Maybe, like me, there has been nothing r...
Post a Comment
Read more