I am a Christian, a retired teacher, a mother and a grandmother. I love to read and I love the Lord Jesus Christ! Unless otherwise specified ,all visual illustrations are from the YOU VERSION APP of the Bible.
In today’s world in which sarcasm is applauded and putting others down is a way to make yourself feel bigger, we are called as Christians to be encouragers. We have to stay focused on the final goal, to be with Jesus in Heaven, and not on the earthly applause we would receive from fitting in with the crowd and doing as the majority does. When someone is doing a good job, tell them you appreciate them. When a fellow believer calls for help, don’t be like Job’s friends and decide that their problems are of their own making. Encourage them to go forward with the Lord, not to stay where they are. A pastor once told me, “There is no standing still with God. You are either moving forward or you are sliding backwards.” Let’s choose to help others move forward!
Live on Purpose
Without intentionality, people tend to drift—becoming complacent instead of motivated, lacking vision instead of leveraging purpose.
But for those of us in Christ, we’re called to something more than drifting our way through life.
The author of the book of Hebrews said it this way…
“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”
Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT
Earlier in the chapter, we’re told that the old system of sacrifices couldn’t cut it. But Jesus—the ultimate sacrifice—made a way once and for all.
Now, we have access to God’s presence, provision, and power forever.
And so the author encourages the reader to inspire their fellow believers. Let’s break down what they say:
– “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works…” It’s easy to slip into routines and patterns that, at the end of the day, don’t have eternal value. It’s easy to become numb, idle, and indifferent. But that’s not the way of Jesus! Let us use our God-given ingenuity to point each other back to Him. Let us be expectant for the opportunities—and even interruptions—that He places in our paths.
– “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do…” Gathering together as the body of Christ is a privilege—a privilege that not everyone around the world can do safely. We shouldn’t take community for granted. Life isn’t just about what we need, but also about being there for each other—to meet practical needs, to help each other grow spiritually, to pray and worship together, and to collectively invite God’s presence.
– “…but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Just as hundreds of prophecies were fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, the rest will come to fruition on the day of His return. Rest assured, He is coming back! So let’s encourage one another to stay focused. Let’s encourage one another to be ready.
With a little thought and intentionality, we can live on purpose.
I used to watch Fred Rogers with my children and then repeats of the show with my grandchildren. He always had such an optimistic, encouraging attitude and with his soft voice, he would tell the children to “look for the helpers. They are always there.” I think that someone who is an encourager is a helper, in one of the best ways possible.
I have had many encouragers in my life, mentors in my Christian walk as well as friends and medical professionals. There are some who stand out in my memory and I am so thankful for them.
My mentors in my Christian walk have been ladies of the church that I was attending who saw my youth and inexperience and encouraged me to dig deeply into God’s Word and to pray daily. I enjoyed Bible studies with them, long discussions about what I believed and why, until ultimately, I was better able to understand what I was reading and to mentor others. They led me to the understanding that I may not have a lot of knowledge to share, but I had some and I just share that seed so that other seeds would then be sowed into my life. It has always been in reaching out to others that I am touched myself. After all, this is the principle of reaping and sowing that God taught me in His Word and that my sweet mentors demonstrated for me.
I haven’t had a lot of friends that I would say are extremely close to me or me to them because I am such an introverted person. But the friendships that I have formed have been with people who spread positivity and encouragement in front of the path that I am following. One such friend was Heidi. She became a mentor to me at the high school in Virginia where I taught for twenty years. She opened her door and her heart to me, answered all of my questions and just spent time reassuring me that I was going to be okay no matter what the parents and the administration threw at me. We laughed a lot as well as cried a lot together. Heidi had a really rough life for a long time, with a philandering spouse and a friend who betrayed her, but she never once made me feel that I was encroaching on her time. I learned from her how to love life and live as though every moment matters. Heidi passed away in 2017 after a long illness and to this day, I can still look at her photo across the room from me and hear her laughter and see her smile that reached all the way into her eyes and never failed to make me smile in return.
Finally, there are all of the medical challenges that I have faced and the encouragement that I have received from various medical professionals. None stands out more than my physical therapist. I met Tim after my knee replacement surgery in 2004, many years ago. My rehab was extremely painful because I am allergic to opioids and could not take pain pills before the exercises that I had to do to get my knee moving properly again. My husband would drop me off early in the morning before I went to teach since Tim said that at the end of the day, my knee was too swollen to exercise well. Then my husband would leave because I literally screamed in agony as Tim manipulated my knee to bend and flex. All the time Tim was working, he was speaking quiet words of encouragement to me, “You’re almost there! You can do it!” Over ten years later, after my stroke, there was no one I wanted to go to for PT except Tim. He assured me that he would do the best he could to help me with occupational therapy, which I needed in addition to PT, but that was not his field of expertise. Tim purchased a white board for me to practice writing on and had me practice daily. I had lost my ability for language when I had my stroke, so I stuttered and stammered and forgot words frequently. I also forgot how to read with comprehension and how to write. Tim set up exercises for me specifically to work on the skills that I needed to recapture. I am thankful that when I was melting in pools of frustration, Tim always threw me a lifeline telling me that he had confidence that I could do it.
I would be completely remiss if I did not mention the greatest encourager in my life, my daughter Hope. Anytime I need prayer, she is right there, on the other end of the phone. When I had my stroke, she left her four children with her husband and a list of who was doing what for each child on each day and then Hope drove over nine hours alone to be with me. She encouraged me to try to live my best life, to walk and talk and to read even when I had difficulty doing those simple tasks. I didn’t like eating because it tired me, and the food was not tasty since I wasn’t allowed salt. She taught her dad how to cook tasty meals for me that had soft foods that were easier for me to swallow and plenty of protein that I needed. She took me to the grocery store and patiently walked beside me as I slowly made my way around and she instructed me where to find the foods that I can still eat. In short, she encouraged me to want to continue to live, even though my life had radically changed. She also encouraged her dad in ways to help me to learn how to be independent again. The result was that in three months, I was back at work part time. Of course, God had a lot to do with that miraculous healing, but I also credit Hope and Tim for the encouragement to embrace my new life.
My encouragers have inspired me to try to be more of an encourager myself. I look for opportunities to sow positive seeds into people’s lives, going against my old nature of being negative and deliberately thinking of positive things that I can say instead.
There are a lot of disheartened people in the world today, and some of them are in my world. They need my encouragement, just a word or two that acknowledges that they are important and that whatever they are going thorough is not a surprise or too big a challenge to God. I am sure that you can find someone to encourage in your daily journey through life, too. The cashier who is weary, the waiter who is overworked and overwhelmed, the young mom with crying children who just needs a smile and a word that she is doing a fine job with them.
All of the encouragement that I have within me to give to others comes from the message that Christ has written in my heart, one of love and gratitude.
I leave you today with this verse of encouragement and pray that the God of all positive things will walk close beside you today. He is and always has been our greatest cheerleader and our hope.
If we think negative thoughts consistently, then our whole being becomes focused on the negative. The news is famous for saying, “If it bleeds, it leads.” Negative most of the time, the news on any network is not teaching us to be positive and believing people. I would rather focus on God’s Word and the good things that are happening. I challenge you today to think positive thoughts all day. I know that for me this is quite a challenge, especially on this rainy day. But rain is needed, just as the sun is. So I am thankful for the rain that is watering the peas and turnips that my husband diligently worked to plant yesterday. I am thankful for each of you who reads my blog daily and makes comments to encourage me. Mostly, I am thankful for the privilege every day of being able to read God’s Word and to find His love and encouragement there.
May you each have a blessed day, thinking on the things that are pure, lovely, admirable, true, noble and right. As my mom used to tell me, “If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all.” Jesus wasn’t a negative “Eeyore” type of person, and neither should we be. Is the world all that we want it to be? Absolutely not! But this is God’s world that we inhabit for only a short time, so let’s touch the world and its people with positivity.
www.bible.com/1171/php.4.8.mev
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 