"be encouraged"

Acts 11:23 When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.

When I was in Jr. High and High School my friend Nyki's gramma would say to us everytime we left the house:
Be Good
Be Careful
I love you

Everytime without fail. I know it seems wierd but I always wanted to do that. And a lot of times I say "Be blessed, be a blessing, I love you". Not everytime but I do say it quite often.

Today was a rough day. More people let go. For no other reason than it's a sign of the times. It's hard not to be discouraged. It's hard not to be sad. But our hope is in the Lord. It says in Isaiah (40:31) but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. And if our hope is in the Lord, no matter what the circumstances we will not grow weary, He gives us strength, we can do all things in Him (Phil 4:13).

Sometimes we MUST surround ourselves with the right people. We need to be lifted up, we need contagious smiles, we need God's love around us. And there are people around who do that. I have a friend, Keith Hayes (he sings in the song on here today) who often says to me "be encouraged". I've never really asked him why he says that to me, he probably says it to a lot of people but I always think "don't let the things of this world get to you, let the love of God encourage who you are and what He will do in your life". Today I met with the young woman that I mentor (how crazy is it that they let ME mentor someone) and then Keith and I spoke after. He even laughed at something silly I said (that could be a number of things). Keith has gazillions of great gifts, he's kind of like Katie in that way, I think God dropped extra gifts on their heads :) and in their hearts. If you went to church and heard him read scripture, and nothing else happened, you've had church. I don't know how to explain it, but God shows up, His word is ALIVE! Keith also I think is a natural encourager, a great listener, and he simply reminds me that "God is good".

And that He is.

Be encouraged. Speak life.

Romans 1:12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.

Comments

Deb said…
awesome song! I am encouraged!!