Friday, September 5, 2014

Just Keep Swimming!

            Ann Voskamp, author of One Thousand Gifts, often blogs and then writes “preaching to myself.” She writes encouraging people to be thankful. But many times it seems she needs the encouragement herself.
            Why is it that we can see someone else’s situation more clearly than we can see our own?  I was walking with a friend recently and she was explaining her dilemma. It was clear to me what she needed to hear. I had to bite my tongue so I would not interrupt her story, wanting to encourage her in a certain direction.  When it was my turn to talk, out came these encouraging words. I praised her for how she was handling a difficult situation. I thought of a principle from the Bible that pointed in a certain direction. I agreed with her that doing nothing and waiting on the Lord seemed like the best course of action.
            As the words were coming out of my mouth, thoughts about my own dilemma were swirling around in my head. I thought about how my husband had praised me for working through my dilemma, and that was a huge encouragement. The biblical principle I told my friend about, applied to my situation as well. Even as the words were floating out of my mouth, I knew that doing nothing right now and waiting on the Lord was exactly what I should be doing in my situation too.
In encouraging others, we can grow closer to the Lord.
         Encourage is defined as:  give support and advise to someone so that they                                                                                      will continue to do something. 

            We all need encouragement with our jobs, in our families, and with our difficult situations. As we encourage others to seek God, make the godly decisions, and keep on keeping on in the Christian walk, we grow closer to the Lord and we encourage ourselves as well.
In the ABC's of growing closer to God, E is to Encourage others.
“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”                          
 I Thessalonians 5:11

To read more ABC's of Growing Closer to God, start here.
 

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