I had the idea to do a blog about encouragement when I was listening to Our Daily Bread Pod Cast on Saturday. I had already had some thoughts on it...but this really got my mind flowing...and I thought .."one of these weeks".
Then Sunday, during praise time at church, one of our sweet, encourager ladies shared about how she had been encouraged by a complete stranger in the middle of the aisle at a local grocery store! She went on to say some of the things that had been rolling around in my head!!
My thought..."Ok Lord, I get it!"
Encourage is a verb.
Middle English (formerly also as incourage ): from French encourager, from en- ‘in’ + corage ‘courage’.
In. Courage. Get it!? YOU have the ability to place a person IN Courage...right in the middle of courage....so they can battle what ever is going on!
(some of the definition from Merriam-Webster.com)
encouraged; encouraging
Definition of encourage
transitive verb
1a : to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope : hearten she was encouraged to continue by her early success
b : to attempt to persuade : urge they encouraged him to go back to school
2 : to spur on : stimulate warm weather encourages plant growth
3 : to give help or patronage to : foster
| synonyms: | hearten, cheer, buoy up, uplift, inspire, motivate, egg on, spur on, stir, stir up, whip up, fire up, stimulate, animate, invigorate, vitalize, revitalize, embolden, fortify, rally, incite; More
lift the spirits of, raise the morale of, stiffen the resolve of;
informalbuck up, pep up, give a shot in the arm to;
|
To come under and lift up means you have to be lower than....you have to be humble...
📖 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. Romans 12:3
📖 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Romans 2:16
It is easier to lift from below than to pull from above.
Jesus is that to us...He made Himself low by taking on our sin and dying on a cross
📖 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 1:3-11
Unless you are truly humble in heart your encouragement will ring with insincerity.
Humility like that of Christ allows us to encourage others as we are encouraged by Him!
There are people on the side lines...at certain check points.. yelling encouragement to the runners. As the runners approach they can hear the voices faintly and they build until they are right beside them, but then fade again as the runner continues
True encouragement is running along beside speaking words of encouragement every step.
📖 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, Hebrews 12:1
We are called to encourage one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.
📖 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
1 Thessalonians 5:11-15
Humbly lift up and then run beside with words and gestures of encouragement
Any where!
Any time! In this day and age it can take only a minute to send a quick message....we probably should remember to be physically encouraging in person more often than we do!
If you are prompted to encourage someone don't give excuses...
Encouraging others has a ripple affect that includes us too...you, yourself, are encouraged once you step outside yourself and look around at others and see who is in need.
Simple acts;
A hello ✋
A smile 😀
A hug 🙅😗
A text with a smile 📱😄😀😊
A phone call just to check in ☎
A note, card, letter, email📩📝 📬💻
To more extravagant;
A visit over a cup of coffee ☕
A walk 🚶🚶
A meal 🍴
Doing a task for them...cleaning, mowing a yard, running an errand
Flowers 💐
In all of them letting someone know you are praying for them🙏
...praying WITH them!🙏🙏
Sometimes even those who don't attend church or even seem to follow Christ seek someone to pray for them when they are struggling. They seek encouragement!
And encouraging someone isn't reserved for those who are down and discouraged either....sometimes those who do much encouraging are strengthened and lifted when someone thinks to encourage them!
Here is the link to the blog that encouraged me to do this blog this week!
Our Daily Bread; The Power Of Encouragement 8/10/19
Let's all try to be a Barnabas today!
No comments:
Post a Comment