Tag Archives: encouragement

Night Light - James & Shirley Dobson

Night Light for Couples – Side By Side

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“Encourage one another daily.” Hebrews 3:13

The Greek translation for the word encouragement is parakletos, which literally means “called alongside to help.” It brings to mind the scriptural image of two people yoked side by side, as when Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29–30). This kind of encouragement includes offering an uplifting word, but it is more than that. It is standing by your husband and keeping an attitude of good cheer when he is laid off his job. It is pitching in to finish the dishes when your wife is too tired to stand. It’s crouching down to a four‐year‐old’s eye level and listening sympathetically as she tearfully tells you about her skinned knee.

The act of encouraging doesn’t include instructing your partner on what to do about a problem. It doesn’t include giving advice, offering tips for improving in the future, or uttering hollow words such as “You really should have known better than to make that foolish mistake” or “Get over it.” Instead, encouragement is a participation game. When you stand alongside your mate and share his or her troubles, you’ve become a practitioner of parakletos and an exceptional source of courage, hope, and happiness.

Just between us…

  • Do you know anyone who always makes you feel good about yourself?
  • How do they do it? Why is it often so difficult to think about the other person first? • How has God used me to “come alongside” you?
  • How can I do better?

Lord Jesus, thank You that You put it within our power to encourage others. May we grow in that ministry. May we become experts at it—starting in our marriage. Amen.

Encourage one another daily.

From Night Light For Couples, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – “So That We Can Comfort Others”

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Experience shows that the more we share Christ’s suffering the more we are able to give of his encouragement. —2 Corinthians 1:5

If someone just found out they have cancer and you are a cancer survivor, you have no idea how much encouragement and perspective you can bring to such a person, who feels as though he or she has been handed a death sentence.

If you have alcoholism in your past, and God has graciously delivered you from that plague and kept you from falling back into it again, your life can bring great hope to someone still in the grip of the addiction.

Or maybe a couple you know lost a child through illness or some terrible accident, and they are walking on the ragged edge of sanity, feeling like they can’t go on another minute, much less another day. If you have lost a child in the past and God has brought you healing, you can come along and say, “We lost a child, too, and it was the hardest thing that ever happened to us. Though we still mourn that child, and though we’re still dealing with it and miss him every single day, we want you to know that God can help you each step of the way. His grace really will be sufficient for you.”

You have no idea how much comfort that can bring. And it would be something that only you could say. No one else could say those words with the same kind of credibility.

The apostle Paul, who had his own serious issues with suffering, as I have said, wrote, “God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5, NLT).

God will give you that comfort—over and beyond what you can personally contain—so that you can share it with others.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Wounded Healer

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Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of sympathy (pity and mercy) and the God [Who is the Source] of every comfort (consolation and encouragement), Who comforts (consoles and encourages) us in every trouble (calamity and affliction), so that we may also be able to comfort (console and encourage) those who are in any kind of trouble or distress, with the comfort (consolation and encouragement) with which we ourselves are comforted (consoled and encouraged) by God. —2 Corinthians 1:3,4

The best healer is often the wounded healer, because he knows what he is dealing with since he has suffered it himself. That’s what Paul was saying in this passage from his letter to the church in Corinth. If you have suffered through some hard times in your life, you are going to be even more successful in ministering to those who are going through the same kind of suffering in their lives. That doesn’t mean that those who have never suffered hardship or pain cannot be used by the Lord.

Some of the greatest and most powerful ministers I know have lived almost perfect lives. But just because you and I have suffered does not keep us from ministering successfully also. Even though you may have had a rough time in your life, God can use what you have been through for His glory—if you will allow Him to do so! If I were still back where I started out, feeling sorry for myself, I would be no good to myself or anyone else.

In fact, I would probably be on the devil’s lunch plate! He would be chewing me up and spitting me out. But because the Lord gave me the grace to lay down my self-pity and take up the challenge of living for Him, now I am able to help hundreds of thousands of people all over the nation and beyond.

To me the greatest testimony in the world is to be able to say, “God took what Satan tried to use to destroy me, and He turned it around for His glory and used it for the betterment of other people in the kingdom.” It takes God to do that! No matter where you may be today or what you may be going through, God can turn your situation around and use it to further His kingdom and bring blessings to you and to many others.

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Let God Comfort You

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Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of sympathy (pity and mercy) and the God [Who is the Source] of every comfort (consolation and encouragement). —2 Corinthians 1:3

We all want to be accepted, not rejected. But most of us have felt the isolation and emotional pain that come from feeling rejected. It hurts! The good news is that we can do something about it.

Years ago, I experienced a situation that brought back the old pain of rejection I had lived with before I began learning how to let God heal my heart. I reached out to someone who had hurt me greatly during my childhood. Instead of offering an apology, this person blamed me for something that wasn’t my fault! I wanted to retreat into a corner and nurse my wounds.

The emotional pain I suffered was intense. I wanted to hide and feel sorry for myself, but I now know how to respond differently. I know how to let God love me, comfort me and heal me through the power of the Holy Spirit. I asked Him to heal my wounded emotions and enable me to handle the situation as Jesus would have handled it. As I kept turning to Him, I felt almost as though soothing oil was being poured over my wounds.

Maybe my situation sounds familiar to you. Maybe you know what it feels like to be hurt, rejected, disappointed, or to experience some other painful emotion. It’s very hard to be your own comforter, and one of the best things you can do for yourself is to look to God for the comfort you need. Today’s verse promises that He is the source of all comfort, consolation and encouragement. When you need these things in your life, He’s the one who can provide them for you.

Love Yourself Today: Do you need comfort or consolation? Don’t try to take care of it yourself, but go to God and let His healing grace give you everything you need.

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Joyce Meyer – Hold Fast to Hope

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Whatever was thus written in former days was written for our instruction, that by [our steadfast and patient] endurance and the encouragement [drawn] from the Scriptures we might hold fast to and cherish hope. —Romans 15:4

We all need to be encouraged. Sometimes we need encouragement to lift us out of the pit of discouragement, but at all times we can use an affirming word, a ray of hope, or a message that says to us, “You can do it!”

God Himself is the best source of encouragement I know and we should seek encouragement and hope from Him. He encourages us through His Spirit, but He also speaks encouragement to us through His Word. Many times, when I need to be encouraged or strengthened in hope, I go to the Bible. I have several favorite passages I read or meditate on when I need strength, support, or encouragement.

God’s Word is filled with encouragement and as long as we have a Bible we have a prescription for encouragement. One translation states that the Word of God is the medicine we need.

Go to God’s Word when you need to be encouraged—when you are hurting, frustrated, disappointed, confused, or weary. Let His words sink into your heart and mind as you wait in His presence. God will never fail you and you can always depend on His Word, especially when you need hope and encouragement.

God’s word for you today: No matter what you do today, keep holding on to hope.