Encourage One Another Daily
Encouragement is something that we all need; and something that we all should be practicing. Encouragement is so important (and necessary) to the church, that God doesn’t just recommend it, He commands it!
(Hebrews 3:13) “Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘today’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
Encouragement to the church is like oxygen; without it it becomes difficult to thrive and grow. One reason why God commands us to encourage one another is because He knows how badly we need it. In the book of John, Jesus gives us warning…
“In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33a)
While that is true, trouble is all around us, Jesus gives us His encouragement…
“But take heart, I have overcome the world.” (John 13:3b)
The world us full of selfishness, brokenness, and misfortunes but the church as Jesus established it should be a place that offers something different. When encouragement is absent in the body of believers, people will feel useless, forgotten and not loved. Lack of encouraging one another will not only affect the church body but the mind and spirit of it as well. Ministries will go unfilled. Joy will be stolen. Complacency will take root.
The Biblical encouragement of which I am speaking of is not the casual Sunday morning “I love your new haircut” or “have you lost weight?” While it is nice to hear these things, compliments are different than encouragement. Encouragement is what we do in an effort to lift ones spirits towards God, it offers grace from one believer to another and it reveals God’s grace towards all. Encouraging one another should expose God’s possibilities and plans. Encouraging one another should lead us away from the pressures and problems at hand and see the purpose and promises of God.
Over and over in the New Testament we see that encouraging one another was a regular part of the early church’s life together as they spurred one another on in faith. They persevered and stood united as they worked diligently for the Lord.
One of the worse places for a Believer to be is in the valley of discouragement. May we all become like Barnabas in the Bible, he was called “son of encouragement”. No doubt Barnabas fullfilled the command given in Hebrews to “encourage one another daily”. Today may be the day for you to encourage someone who literally may be on the brink of cutting their spiritual oxygen off.
Let’s be oxygen givers and encourage one another … DAILY!
BLESSINGS. Laurie
What a powerful message, Laurie. Just yesterday something popped up on my FB that I had written 2 years ago. I used to share once a week words of encouragement. I think I need to go back to that! Encouragement in this world is powerful, and we need to do that daily, as you stated.
Oh, how I needed this word of encouragement today. Thank you, Laurie. I love this: “One is the worse places for a Believer to be is the Valley of Discouragement.” I’m in That valley right now, but I feel like I’m my own worst enemy. I freely encourage others but I don’t lear those words of encouragement back from others. I feel as though someone is standing on my oxygen house, but when I look down it’s my own foot stopping the oxygen flow! Why oh why don’t I choose to believe the promises of God are for me, too? I must choose to receive the encouraging words I receive from Scripture and let them rejuvenate my weary soul. Thank you again, Laurie.