Encouraging Love

"So encourage each other and build each other up." (I Thess. 5:11 NLT)

Have you ever been around someone who just made you feel so good by the things they say and their attitude. It doesn't matter how bad or how low you may feel when you are around these people you just leave feeling totally different.

Some people think that you have to be natured a certain way or be without problems to be an encourager. This is so untrue. God has called all of us to be encouragers. From this verse in the Bible it doesn't even sound like an option, it is a command. Encourage each other and build each other up is something anyone can do.

The problem: it is against our carnal nature to be an encourager or to build up. THe carnal man would rather find the juicy gossip about someone and spread it(as a prayer request of course). The carnal man would also rather bring someone down to our level so we don't feel so bad about ourselves when we know we are not doing all God wants us to do. It takes a real man or woman of God to find the good in people and point it out, to build them up, to encourage them in the midst of their difficulties.

I think it would be a good idea if we all took the advice that Thumper's daddy gave him, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Unfortunately, we too often engage our mouth before we do our brains and it comes out before we have really thought it through to see what the outcome is going to be.

I once heard it said that our words are like a feather pillow. Once you open up the pillow and let the feathers fly, you can never go back and pick them all up. The same with our words once you open your mouth and let the words fly, you can never go back and retrieve them all. You cannot go back and fix the damage that they have caused. SO we must measure our words carefully before the leave our lips.

Our prayer needs to be each day, Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight. So I challenge you today to find someone who needs encouraging and allow God to use you to fulfill this scripture.