HEARTFUL ENCOURAGEMENT

Worry weighs a person down; an

encouraging word cheers a person up

Proverbs 12:25

Encourage is to stimulate by assistance, inspire hope and confidence

Inspire is to fill or affect with a specified feeling or thought

In today's downcast global economic climate, it is not difficult to find someone who is need of a kind word or action. All we need to do is look around us, at our neighbours, the lone man walking along with his head hanging low. The woman you see every morning, whose shoulders seemed weighed down with the heavy load of striving to exist, from day to day.

In life, we all will go through the good, bad and ugly times. With the good times, we are usually okay. When the bad and ugly times come, it is encouragement from God's words and others that will keep us going.

When we have tried everything we know how to and we are on the brink of yet another failure or giving up, it is encouragement that will keep us moving forward, and keep us in the game. When we are too tired to put one foot in front of another, it is the act of compassion which comes from encouragement, that will gives us new strength.

God knew there would come a time in our lives, when we would need doses of encouragement, like we need the air we breath. This is what the opening verse is explaining to us and encouraging us to do for ourselves and for others.

However, in His goodness, God also provides encouragement for us in His word, such as in Isaiah 35:3. This and such verses are for instances when we are almost horizontal on the floor, close to giving up hope. God gives us a boost of strength through the encouragement that lies within the good news of His word. It reads "With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees". How about that? Isn't He just awesome?

So, are you going through a rough patch? Have you tried everything you know how to do and yet nothing is working in your favour? Are you about to throw up your hands up in the air, in defeat, giving up all hope of your visions and dreams being manifested? Well, if you are where I am right now, solely dependant on God's promises, I encourage you NOT TO GIVE UP. I encourage you to hold on to the very solid foundation of your hope and expectation in God and His word. He will renew your body, spirit, mind and soul with Strength.

I encourage you to keep pressing forward in purpose, consistency and perseverance, for God will work everything together for your good as He has declared in Romans 8:28, including the failures, denials and chaos that might be going on.

On the other hand, everything might be going okay for you. However, do you know someone that is in need of words of encouragement and acts of compassion? Your neighbour, your friends, that man or woman you see looking so sad on the train, as you journey to work every morning? Looking around you, who can you encourage to keep going, not to give up on their hopes and dreams? Present them with the gift of 'words of encouragement', backed up with acts of compassion.

Those words and actions can go a long way to alter the stance of the intended and enable them to rise up and overcome their problems.

Today, be encouraged in God's word, and in return encourage somebody; displaying the compassionate nature of God, making Him famous along your way.

Much Love

Remi

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