Recently I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about the power of encouragement. When you’re discouraged, frustrated and down there is something extremely powerful when someone comes along side of you and tells you that they “believe in you”. Especially when you don’t believe in yourself, it seems as though someone else “believing in you” to become a direct deposit of hope and confidence into your empty “self-confidence account”. It’s as though someone encouraging you gives you hope and that hope begins to “leak into” your empty tank!
Discouragement comes with living. Everyone experiences it. However, those of us who have experienced mental health issues seem to be dragged down and held there in the dark abyss of discouragement more easily and longer than the average person. I suspect this happens because any type of ongoing mental health issue strikes right at the heart of one’s self-confidence. And having self-confidence is a key to “getting back up” after prolonged discouragement. Of course, the difficulty with getting back up also is connected to how often one has been “knocked down” as well as the duration of each period of discouragement.
Knowing that someone else is “with you”, “for you”, “believes in you” and “is there for you” breathes “fresh-confidence” into an empty and dried up confidence tank much like a soft gentle rain is to dried up, parched, ground. Encouragement enables a fragile heart to beat stronger again. Encouragement begins to create new thought patterns in a brain that desperately needs detoxing. Encouragement feeds a hungry soul the hope that God still has a plan.
If you are discouraged and some “encouraging-encourager” comes along, let it soak into you. Embrace it. Enjoy it. Savor it. Build upon it. And be sure to spend as much time as possible with that encourager.
An encourager who comes along in your life is a gift from the LORD. Many times they become like “Jesus with skin on” for you and me.
If you know of someone who is discouraged begin to encourage them by your words and actions. Encouragement is an interesting thing; when you give to others you get even more of it yourself. It never ceases to amaze me that when you need encouraging and you encourage others all of a sudden your own “tank” gets filled up.
And most of all: be sure to lavishly soak yourself in the encouragement of the LORD through His Word. In His word He reminds you of His GREAT love for you; His ability to take all things and work them out together for your good. He assures you that He has a plan and a purpose for your life. He also assures you that He will not leave you or forsake you. And through His word His Holy Spirit works within you. If you are not able to concentrate when you read His word then listen to Scripture songs and music.
Recently I asked some of my friends on Facebook to tell me what encouragement meant to them. Here’s just a few of the responses:
· “Sometime the greatest encouragement I've gotten is when a friend just comes along side me, no words, a hug, and the bond of friendship that needs no spoken words!” Cyndy
· “Presence + compassion + support = encouragement.” Pastor Mike
· “No matter how small it may be, any sign that I am appreciated always encourages me.” Karen
· “Smiles, emails, hugs, calls, and when friends show support and pray for me.” Julie
· “Years ago I had a friend call me from the hospital. The doctor had just told her she needed a heart transplant and she had no one to talk to. All the way to the hospital I repeated the same one-line prayer "Lord, give me the words." Months later, after her transplant, my friend called me, again. She wanted to apologize because she could not remember anything I said during that visit but she wanted me to know how much it meant to her that I was there. God taught me a big lesson!” Kim
· “We look for lofty words and often say or do things that are not in our character--all out of caring and wanting to encourage that person. But those ‘Barnabas moments’ as I love to call them, come from our presence and that shouldn't surprise us … isn't that just like God? Sometimes at my lowest moments I hear no voice but I feel His presence and I am encouraged and comforted because His presence is ALWAYS with me!” Cyndy
· “The Word of God and the Holy Spirit are my greatest source of encouragement. God has all the patience and solutions to my dilemmas.” Bart
· “If I’m in a worst case scenario mindset, my encourager would not let me stay there. An encourager would help me take responsibility for my thinking and steer me toward more hopeful and uplifting thoughts. An encourager would remind me that all thing work together for those who love the Lord. They would remind me to think on those things that are true and right. An encourager would not let me sit on a pity pot, or allow me to assonate my own character, as I have been prone to do. Also, they would help steer the subject to more hopeful and lovely thoughts after they are sure I feel heard helps. Which keeps me from RUMINATING!” Carol
How have others encouraged you when you were discouraged?
