Encourage One Another: Sharing Grace to Receive Grace - a devotional

Welcome to the Tuesday devotional. My name is Daniel Douglas, and I am a clergy candidate for the position of local pastor. I asked Pastor Karen for some experience in the pulpit. We decided it was best to start small with this devotional. 

How are you feeling these days? Or, as John Wesley liked to ask, how goes it with your soul? Is it charged up and ready to go? Or I’m suspecting that, like many of us, you could use some encouragement. 

That brings us to today’s devotional verse - 1 Thessalonians 5:11, where Paul writes, “This is why you must encourage and help each other, just as you are already doing.” Some other translations say, “Bring hope” or “Build each other up.” 

Having been through the most recent months, the never-ending election, the pandemic, good and bad times can happen - and change - very quickly. Even the next phone call or text message could be the difference between a great day and a lousy one. This week, I got the dreaded phone call stating that there were potential exposures in each of my children’s classrooms and that they needed to be quarantined for a certain amount of time. My wife and I huddled together and came up with a plan, and when we told our respective bosses, they were grace-filled and said, “I’m glad you came up with a plan. We will work with you. Take care of your family.” Not everyone is this lucky. 

We live in a world where it is so easy to be a critic, but when someone offers an encouraging word, we quickly turn cynical; motives are questioned, and doubt creeps in on its authenticity. Overly optimistic words can sound too good to be true - like a sales pitch. Building trust takes time. But tearing down can happen in an instant and unexpectedly.

Sin steals joy, our bodies age and break down, plans fall apart, and it’s easy to understand why we could all use an uplift more often than not. As believers, we are not immune from this; as much as the love of God can fill our cups, we still need to connect with Him to get encouragement, whether through scripture, prayer, or fellowship with others. 

This is why we need to encourage one another every day. The good news is that we are not alone! This skill may take work, but as Paul suggests, it is something we should already know how to do and practice. 

WHAT IS ENCOURAGEMENT?

Ok - so now you’re thinking - I get it. I need to be less critical and more positive. Can I just go around giving compliments, or how can I be more encouraging?

Getting to Christian encouragement is to share grace with others so that Christ and His love will shine through you. The key is that we need to meet people where they are, hear their struggles, and encourage them to move forward. It may be trying to figure out a solution to the problem, but maybe not. We just need to be listening to the struggles but also how the Holy Spirit may guide us, whether that’s just sitting with someone in their grief or praying with another who could use it. Is that all? No, but that's how we share love with those around us. 

HOW CAN I BE AN ENCOURAGER?

Here's a tip: start small and with those around you. I challenge you in your own life to remember what kind of encouragement you've received and how it made you feel. I bet you can place a teacher or coach from when you were young, and it had a large impact on you. This is how long these things can stick around - decades, even most of people's lives. Encouragement is usually paired with overcoming obstacles of some sort, so the encourager strengthens your faith and provides a resource to muster the confidence to keep going. Who doesn't want that kind of energy?

Remember Karen’s sermon from Sunday - Peter steps out of the boat with this massive storm surging all around them. Imagine if you’re one of the disciples he left behind. The text doesn’t talk about what the other 11 are doing or thinking, but would you be cowering in the corner, or would you be cheering him on to get closer to Jesus? Don’t look down! Forget about the rain and the thunder! One foot in front of the other! Even in the face of the storms of our lives, you need to know you are a part of the community of believers who will love and support you through whatever storm you may be in the midst of. 

Encouraging those around you may also have the boomerang effect of getting inspired back. Once you start leaning into encouraging people through their obstacles, you may even be able to consult with your community when you have an obstacle that needs overcoming and feel the Holy Spirit work through your peers shining back at you! 

If we choose not to encourage, aren't we hurting the ministry of the church? We serve a God who acts - a God who can do all things - and does not submit to the world, who lives in and through our lives. CS Lewis once wrote, 

With the holidays coming up soon and the difference in how we will be celebrating it, be giving with your grace and with encouragement. I have a feeling it'll need to be spread extra thick like gravy this year!

ENDING

The gift of encouragement is a gift to be used anywhere - at home, at work, at church, and even if you are so bold - out in public. I doubt you'll find a single person who will react badly to encouragement. This is a never-ending process. The world does enough to tear itself down; Jesus calls us to encourage both the faithful and hopeless to be a beacon of hope, faith, and love to the world. 

Let us pray: 

May the Spirit of the Lord lead you in encouraging ways, reaching out to anyone who could use a kind word, a shoulder to mourn with, or raise hands in celebration. God also helps us to see the struggler or the lonely around us  - anyone who could use the encouragement of love and hope today. In your name, Amen.