A Daily Dose of Encouragement
God recommends a daily dose of encouragement to keep our hearts soft and our feet moving when we encounter life’s hardships. Encouragement is a form of the very same word Jesus used in describing the Holy Spirit and it means to come alongside to give help. The Holy Spirit helps us to live life God’s way and because He lives in us, we have the great privilege of helping others to keep on going when life gets tough. Have you ever thought of yourself as gifted? Well according to Scripture all of God’s Kids are gifted because He placed one or more gifts of the Spirit in each one of us when we were born again. The gift of encouragement involves the supernatural ability to help or strengthen someone when they are weak or wavering in their faith. The Spirit uses this gift to make us vessels of comfort for others.
Teddy Bear hugs are one expression of encouragement and we all need a good bear hug once in awhile, but a daily dose of encouragement from God’s Word is even more powerful. Paul tells us, “…everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). Every time we open God’s Word we find the encouragement we need to keep on going and hold on to our hope no matter how long or how lonely the road seems. I cannot begin to count the number of times God placed a Scripture on my heart and a few hours later I was able to encourage someone else with it. I love it when He does that!
A Note of Hope has its roots in God’s Word because it is the only hope that will never disappoint us and we all need hope. Hope inspires endurance and endurance is what keeps us putting one foot in front of the other.(1 Thessalonians 1:3) God’s Word alone has the power to strengthen us when we are weak, reassure us when we are insecure, steady us when we waver and give us courage to face our fears. It is living and active and every time we hear the Word of God our faith is bolstered. Bolstered faith enables us to stand firm even when the winds of adversity blow.
Encouragement has the supernatural ability to stir our hearts and give us a renewed zeal to keep moving in the right direction. As a sojourner familiar with the long road through dark valleys of disappointment, I love dispensing a dose of encouragement whenever I can. How about you? Have you had your daily dose of encouragement from His Word? Is there anyone you know who could use a dose of encouragement? Go make their day, my Gifted Friends!
My Hope Is In Him!