Encouragement
I’ve been thinking about how easy it is to get discouraged these days, and how much a simple word of encouragement can mean. Solomon said it best in Proverbs 25:11 “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” Have you tasted any golden apples lately?
I’ll admit that too often I’m the one needing the encouragement. Maybe that’s because writers face so much rejection that we grasp at every snippet of acceptance. Maybe I focus on my own needs too much. But if the truth were known, all people put themselves first, at least in their own thoughts. Perhaps that is why Jesus told us to “love your neighbor as yourself.” And the apostle Paul told men to love their wives and to cherish them like they do their own bodies, “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it.” God knew how self-seeking we are, so He taught us how to love using comparisons we couldn’t miss.
Still, most of us don’t think very often about other people or their needs. Most of us, if we’re truly honest are pretty self-absorbed with our lives, our jobs, our families–just getting through the day is a chore sometimes. The average person on the street isn’t thinking about the person next to them in line at the store or sitting next to them in class. We don’t care about how they act or what they say unless it directly affects us. We don’t realize how much a kind word or a genuine smile can brighten a person’s day.
I ask myself, when was the last time I offered a golden word of encouragement to someone in need? When was the last time I lived like Jesus before others?
Oh Lord, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer.”
May I place settings of silver around me today and serve apples of gold to all who come near.
And I’ll start now with this – thank you to all who stop by my website and to those who drop me a line now and then. I appreciate you all so much! May God bless you today!
