Dear SCC & Friends,
Encourage one another… ~1 Thessalonians 5:11
Reflection #261
Time and good friends are two things that become more valuable as the years pass by. It’s good to remember how meaningful and long lasting encouragement has proved to be at certain points in our lives. Encouragement comes in many forms but primarily through people…family, friends, coaches, teachers, pastors, bosses. Encouragement is essentially the act of giving courage or confidence of success to others… It inspires and incites us to action. Many years ago, I ran in a marathon race which took six months of preparation. I trained with a good friend which made all the difference… Once we committed, we never missed a run… be it rain or shine, cold or hot… Our common confession was we very likely would have quit without each other’s encouragement to press on… We are always better when encouragement is in the atmosphere… Two are always far better than one because they have a good return for their labor.~Ecc. 4:9
All of us can recall times and seasons when a word or act of encouragement clarified direction and strengthened resolve. Encouragement is about hope… the anchor of our soul… Hope deferred makes the heart sick… ~Prov. 13:12We all need encouragement, but that doesn’t mean we are generous in giving it. Why don’t we encourage more? I don’t know… Maybe we are too insecure or judgmental to encourage others. Maybe it makes us feel too vulnerable or uncomfortable… The truth is that the need for affirmation and encouragement far outweighs the danger of creating inflated egos. Correction does much, but encouragement does more. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe~ Therefore encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you also are doing. ~1 Thess. 5:11 May we never underestimate what a word of encouragement can mean at the right time, in the right place and under right circumstances. Keep up the good work!
Made for these days,
Kevin