There is a Fine Line

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

There is a fine line between discouragement and hope especially when we pay too much attention to the world and not enough attention to the source of encouragement and peace. Paul tells us Jesus is the source of eternal encouragement and good hope. When our lives are focused on Him that fine line becomes just a little wider.

Paul was a tremendous encourager and he found encouragement for himself in the Holy Spirit and from the people in his life. We all need to have at least one human encourager in our lives. That encourager is the person who knows you are in the midst of a storm and invites you to lunch for shared tears and a good laugh.

If we are lucky enough to have more than one person who encourages us to be all we are called to be in Christ then we are doubly blessed. I have more than one - in fact I can name six without even thinking about.

In the book of Romans Paul tells us that encouraging is a gift to be used. This week I want to encourage you to stretch your encouragement muscles and be someone’s encourager, God will give you everything you need to make a difference in someone’s life.

If you find yourself in need of some encouragement - seek it in God’s Word and allow the encourager in your life to lift you up. When you do - you will find peace in the storm.

A Prayer
Father - thank you the encouragement and hope Your grace and mercy provides for us. Thank you for putting encouragers into our lives to help us stand firm. Help us to hone our encouraging skills to that we can encourage others as well. In the name of Jesus, Amen