Monday, January 5, 2015
The Nature Of Encouragement
This morning as I considered what encouragement really is, a different thought came to mind. Perhaps our idea of encouragement is entangled in what the world around us shows to us as relationship. There are some generally accepted ideas about encouragement that we inherit from society. But I would suggest that like other aspects of our walk as believers, society’s view in general may not be completely correct on this point. For many of us we are taught from the time we are little that we encourage good behavior, usually through reward. We also are taught to discourage bad behavior, usually through punishment or reward withholding. These seem logical to us as a society. But what if God’s way is different? Take the example of the children of Israel in the desert. His initial response to “bad behavior” in the form of them accusing Him of trying to kill them by thirst (remember they are His children saying this) was to give them water from the rock.
Exodus 17:1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?
3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
4 And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.
5 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.
6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?
Unfortunately these particular individuals never learned their lesson, but their children did, and their children inherited the Promised Land.
The message I take away from these passages from scripture is this. God is on our side, always. When we make mistakes and say or do the wrong thing, He is still on our side. He will reach out to us to help us. WE need to continue to believe that He is on our side, and not accuse Him of doing something bad to us. He will encourage us to make the necessary course corrections to get back on His path. he will show us that way. In fact, He has given us a pretty good set of directions already in the scriptures. But He also wants to speak to us, one on one, like a loving Father to His child.
Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High. You alone are worthy of all praise and honor and glory. We praise Your name, Yahuah (Lord) and long for Your kingdom in the earth. We ask that You send us today overwhelming provision, such that we cannot hold it all, and it overflows to those around us. We need Your forgiveness and ask that You forgive us for those things that we have done which are not pleasing to You. We need Your deliverance and Your healing. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.