Be Encouraged
1 Samuel 30:6(b) says "but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God". Reflecting this week on how important and priceless it is for us to encourage others, I looked to the concordance for the scriptures containing the word "encourage" and was surprised that it appears very few times. It was not surprising, though, to find that one those verses contains a lesson for us in encouragement.
We all need encouragement on a regular basis. We need to encourage one another, be generous with our thanks and recognition for each person's gifting and talents and for the little things that often go unnoticed. As much as we need to give encouragement, we are also built up by the encouragement we receive from others. Usually I would have stopped here in my thought on encouraging one another, but God's Word gives us another step.
Absent the encouragement of another we have the gift of encouraging ourselves in the Lord. What a wonderful thought! When we are down and out and discouraged, we can escape to the presence of the Lord and encourage ourselves. Our Father will relish the opportunity to renew and inspire us. He is our biggest cheerleader.
Now, go get your encouragement!
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