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Entries in Encouragement (3)

Saturday

Dec182021

Keep on Comforting and Encouraging

This is something that I shared on Facebook on December 17th. I want to share it here as well—and expand on it a bit—because I think we all need a Compassion UPGRADE.

I've been "watching" someone who has suffered for a long time. As the years go by, some of her friends have fallen away, because it's awkward to them that nothing changes. It's so sad.

Confession Time

I "fell away" from encouraging a friend years ago too—a grieving brother in the family of God—because:

I got busy in life;
I didn't know what else I could say. I didn't know how to keep on encouraging him as he was hurting . . . and it went on and on for years.

So I just prayed—which wasn't bad, but it wasn't enough. 

I could have reached out more.

The longer I didn't write to encourage him, the worse I felt. The harder it got. 

I reasoned that I didn't want to be like one of Job's unhelpful counselors, doing more damage than helping. 

But the truth is, there were many ways I could have expressed God's (and my) loving concern. 

It wasn't that I didn't love my brother in Christ; I just didn't know how to "relate" to his suffering anymore. 

I understand now that I could have continued to share simple truths:

"I'm still praying for you," or
"God sees and loves you."

I could have spoken God's truth into his pain from a caring heart.

I could have asked him, "How can I pray specifically for you today—physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, spiritually?" I even could have sent resources to remind Him I cared. 

I learned that lesson the hard way, and it made me more sensitive to "continue" to encourage others who hurt. 

We never know how God might use our words or actions to encourage others. If we take time to think about it, there are many ways to comfort those who struggle.

When we're with them, we might take their hands in ours, look them in the eyes, and say, "I love you and I'm praying for you."

Sometimes, it's just a matter of sitting with them in their times of grief or pain.

A woman once told me the most meaningful thing that happened to her all day at a funeral for her husband was that I simply sat beside her and held her hand for an hour . . . no words, just my presence. 

Keep on comforting and encouraging—any way you can!

One other thing. I am thankful the Bible says we have a friend who "sticks" with us, closer than a brother (Prov. 18:24). He never leaves us, and He knows how to comfort us in our struggles. We may feel he has deserted us in our circumstances, but the promise is "He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you" (Deut. 31:8b NLT).

Sometimes it's "no words" . . . just God's wonderful presence.

How about you? Is there someone you might encourage today? Someone you once encouraged, but you've been busy, or maybe you fretted over what to say? 

Why not simply stop right now and write to or tell that person you care and are praying? It will mean a lot.

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, and the creator the blog, Upgrade with Dawn. She is a contracted researcher/reviewer for women's teacher and revivalist, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth at Revive Our Hearts, and is a regular columnist at Crosswalk.com. She and her husband Bob live in sunny Southern California, and Dawn has traveled with Him in Pacesetter Global Outreach. They have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of AlexasFotos at Pixabay.

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Saturday, December 18, 2021 at 12:32PM

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Tuesday

Mar302021

A Certain Hope for Uncertain Times

Dawn Wilson

Kathi Macias has become one of my go-to friends for biblical wisdom applied in practical ways. In this Encouragement UPGRADE, she reminds us circumstances may change, but our hope is in our God who never changes.

"My favorite scenario is that Jesus will arrive and scoop us up before the going gets REALLY tough," Kathi says, "but Jesus Himself told us that no one knows the day or the hour when He will return."

I (Dawn) admit that I'm also hoping Jesus returns... SOON! As our culture disintegrates, sometimes my heart fills with fear. But then I fix my eyes on Jesus, and something else too—which Kathy writes about here.

Kathi continues . . .

I’ve noticed that a lot of people tend to be dividing into two different camps lately:

those who run around pulling their hair and screaming that the sky is falling, and
those who have no clue, nor do they care what’s going on beyond their own little self-developed bubble.

This wouldn’t disturb me so much if it were strictly unbelievers reacting this way, but even some Christians seem caught up in one or the other of these behaviors.

I have a tendency to lean toward the screamers, since I too sense we are living in perilous times.

But then again, when in history have times not been perilous, at least somewhere in the globe?

Of course, I don’t want to discount prophecy, and it’s difficult not to listen to the news and try to line it up with Scripture.

But whether we’re in the last days, the next-to-last days, or the last of the last days—

Is stocking up on peanut butter and toilet paper really what we are called to do as Christians?

All right, I admit that I’m of practical German stock, and I like the feeling of security I get from being out of debt and having enough canned soup on hand to last me until the millennium—just in case.

My favorite scenario is that Jesus will arrive and scoop us up before the going gets REALLY tough, but Jesus Himself told us that no one knows the day or the hour when He will return. The only thing we can know for certain is that He WILL come . . . and when He does, it will be at the perfect time.

So where does that leave us, particularly as we work our way through 2021, with looming economic problems, virus vaccines and lockdowns, and uncertainty at every turn?

It leaves us in exactly the same place as when things were going more smoothly and everything seemed right within our own little world. It wasn’t right, of course; it only seemed that way because our personal life situation wasn’t threatened.

And that’s the point.

People have lived with threats and wars and terrorism and economic instability since Adam and Eve were exiled from the Garden.

Might we be living at the end of the age, when everything comes to a head and Jesus really does return? Most certainly.

Then again…

It really doesn’t matter, for how we live is not to be based on what we think tomorrow might bring, but rather on what God has called us to do TODAY.

“Every commandment which I command you TODAY you must be careful to observe…” (Deuteronomy 8:1, emphasis added).
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for THE DAY is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34, emphasis added).
“TODAY, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:7-8, emphasis added).

We are called to be faithful TODAY—not to lament our failures of yesterday or fret about tomorrow.

If we are true believers, then we are to be about the Father’s business, as Jesus was when He walked the earth. We are to fulfill the Great Commission of going into all the world to proclaim the gospel and make disciples.

That’s what we need to focus on TODAY—whether tomorrow seems to threaten turmoil or promise peace. For the Scriptures are clear that regardless of what we face, God’s thoughts and plans for us are “of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Several years ago, I wrote a book called The Moses Quilt, a contemporary romance told against the backdrop of the life of one of America’s greatest heroines, Harriet Tubman.

This amazing woman of faith and courage was born into slavery and went through life uneducated and nearly penniless. Yet she not only escaped slavery herself but went back into the “lion’s den” nineteen times to successfully lead out about 300 other slaves, including her elderly parents—all the time knowing there was a “wanted dead or alive” bounty on her head.

How was she able to do it? By refusing to allow the circumstances to dissuade her from following what she believed was God’s call on her life.

Harriet stood on God’s promises.

She stood on scriptures she had memorized from hearing others recite them—because she was unable to read—and lived accordingly.

Those same promises that fortified Harriet Tubman’s courage are available to us.

With that in mind,

we don’t need to scream and pull our hair,
nor do we need to hide within our personal safety bubbles and ignore the world around us.

God is calling us to so much more; He is calling us to be about His business and to enter into those plans and thoughts He has for us… to give us a future and a hope, just as Harriet Tubman and so many others did before us.

How are your responding to these uncertain, sometimes scary times? How might standing on God's promises and the encouragement in His Word give you sure hope and a plan for moving forward in obedience to Him?

Kathi Macias (www.kathimacias.com) is an award-winning author of more than 50 books. A wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, she lives in Southern California with her husband, Al.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of ambermb at Pixabay.

Now He's Alone

Dawn Wilson

Susan K. Stewart is a creative writer, often using what is at hand to teach powerful, practical scriptural truths. In this Hope UPGRADE, she asks us to consider her donkey friend, Jeb.

"Being alone is not pleasant for any of us," Susan says. "Loneliness is made harder because it’s a pain that can’t be seen."

I (Dawn) also believe the pain of loneliness is real, and it's been magnified by the coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions. God has a word of comfort for the lonely, and sometimes He speaks through unusual means—even a donkey's soulful bray.

Susan continues . . .

Jeb hadn’t always been alone. He had family and friends nearby when we met him. Gradually though, they all seemed to move on, leaving him a sad, lonely donkey.

Our life with donkeys began with three jennies from a camp for special needs children. We adopted three of the five therapy animals: Georgia May, Hope, and Shawna. Our neighbor took in the other two: Ellie May and Jeb.

Even though the tiny herd was split up, they stayed in touch with occasional brays. Daily we could hear them chatting back and forth. Even though they couldn’t see each, the “family” knew they were all close by.

A couple of years later, we needed to re-home our three girls. Although the daily family chatter stopped, we could still hear Ellie May and Jeb converse, usually to anyone who would listen.

A few months later, Ellie May disappeared. We don’t know how she got out of the pasture, where she went, or why Jeb didn’t follow.

Now he was alone.

We could hear it in his calls. It sounded as though he were asking, “Where are you?”

Soon the cries for his family decreased, then stopped. Oh, Jeb still joined with other donkeys in the area with the morning donkey grapevine. But he no longer hollered for his family. They were gone.

As time went on, more of the donkey neighbors moved. The morning chatter stopped. No more friendly bantering catching up on the pasture news.

Eventually Jeb moved to our pasture. Our pasture is situated where he can see us throughout the day. While he was acclimating to his new home, we often went out to be sure he knew where the sweet feed was at, make his way to the hay feeder, and be sure he couldn’t work his way out of the gate. He only brayed to announce he was ready to eat.

He was still alone.

Sadly, there are Jebs all around us. People left behind for a number of reasons: friends and family move, a death of loved one, social distancing, and in our overly fast world no one has time to visit. Calls are made for awhile, but eventually when no one answers, they stop.

None of us wants to be a lonely Jeb.

Nor do we want to be the cause of such loneliness.

The writers of Hebrews tells us:

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV).

Here we have an outline to stave off aloneness.

1. The core of these verses is “not neglecting to meet together.”

This doesn’t only apply to attending functions at church. We can meet others where they are at—a coffee shop, their home, a care facility.

In our current world of social distancing and quarantines, it’s too easy to neglect basic fellowship. For those who are house bound, a simple phone call is all that is needed to let them know family and friends are still near—for “meeting together”

2. We’re also told to encourage one another.

One definition of encouragement is “the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope.”

I like the word “hope,” giving someone hope as a way of encouraging.

Doom and gloom seem to be all around us. We need to depend on each other for positive reports, positive conversation, even positive social media—for hope.

During this time of economic difficulties, encouragement can come in the form of a bag of groceries or a gift card.

Any way we can let others know we see them and we care gives needed support for confident hope.

3. It’s after we reach out and give support we can help “stir up love and good works” in others.

A lonely person may be like our Jeb—going through the motions of each day, but no desire to do much more.

Through our actions, the Jebs in our lives can see love and good works, then move on to share to with others.

Each of us, even when surrounded by others, can feel abandoned and alone. We can even feel God has deserted us. We don’t seem to hear him.

Think of all those who have gone before us who had the same emotions.

David wrote, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?”
How much more alone could Jonah have felt?
Jesus cried on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34)

Then came the morning. God was there. He is there.

While we may be alone for a while, we are never deserted. Our companion, Jesus Christ, is walking with us, even when we don’t see him.

Do you feel alone? How can you move from loneliness to hope to encouragement?

Susan K. Stewart is the Managing Nonfiction Editor with Elk Lake Publishing Inc. She tends her donkeys, chickens, and various other creatures with her husband Bob on a small ranch in Central Texas. Susan’s passion is to inspire readers with practical, real-world solutions. Her book, Donkey Devos: Listen to your donkey when God speaks, is due out early next year. Learn more at her website: www.practicalinspirations.com.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Anna ER at Pixabay.