Encouragement: The Fuel of Hopeနမူနာ

Why do we need to be encouraged?

There is a strong link between encouragement and hope.

Hope is future focused and it is hope that gets us out of bed in the morning. Encouragement is the fuel that helps drive us to achieve our hopes.

Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone had these words of encouragement to others.

“When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” ~Alexander Graham Bell

We need encouragement because too often we do not believe what is before our eyes; that we have been set free by Christ and are on the pathway to life. Without encouragement, faith can weaken and we might even turn away from Christ and back to the evils of this world. In Christ, we are encouraged to focus on the doors that are open, leading to a hopeful future, not what lies behind us that should remain closed.

In Christ, we are looking to what cannot be seen, and sometimes it can be hard to hold fast to the invisible things.

But the Lord gives us great encouragement. He tells us that the work we do in His name will be rewarded. It is the Lord who stands with us and goes before us in this spiritual battle, and He has promised to never fail nor forsake us.

We need encouragement because Christ is working in us to transform our hearts so that we walk in God’s love. And if we are to walk in His love we need encouragement to learn and understand His will.

We live in difficult times. The daily news is full of the problems of this world: COVID, wars, earthquakes, floods, economic instability, and more. The whole world has been turned upside down and the prevailing emotions are fear, anxiety, and mistrust.

But in Christ, we can be encouraged because all of these things were prophesied beforehand. All of these things are written in Matthew chapter 24, Mark chapter 13 and Luke chapter 21. These are the signs Jesus gave to indicate His imminent return.

We should be encouraged knowing that Jesus told us beforehand, because that means everything that is happening is following His plan and is under His control. Indeed, this is the purpose of prophecy; to provide encouragement to the people of God by letting them know what is to happen before it happens so that we do not lose heart.

This is why we need encouragement.

Call to action:

Today, set your heart and mind on the future. Focus your mind on the hope of salvation that you have in Jesus Christ. Open your heart and mind to His leading and look to the things of the Spirit rather than the tribulations of this world. In these things, you will find encouragement.