Encouragement

Encouragement "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1 I have always been a big sports fan, and spend a lot of my time following my favorite basketball and baseball teams. I am also an encourager at heart, and nothing gives me more pleasure than to celebrate the determination and hard work that lead to victories in my friends' lives. I have always liked to see my employees do well in their jobs, and always was there to encourage them and make them the best they could be. I have always liked to celebrate a victory with them, regardless of how small that victory may seem to be. I believe that speaking a true word of encouragement into someone's life is like helping them mine for gold. Sometimes, we have to shovel past a lot of dirt before we find the first shiny nuggets, but if we persist we will find the real treasure. Did you know that gold-miners don't keep a record of the amount of dirt they have to dig through to find the gold. I love that analogy. While others see a lot of dirt, I like to look beyond the dirt, and find the riches that lie beneath. I love to speak truth-infused, life-giving encouragement to my brothers and sisters in Christ, which is the reason that I write so many encouraging devotionals. I am careful not to mislead them through speaking kind words that are born from an earthly compassion that has no basis in truth. I would not tell a tone-deaf friend they have a voice of an angel, but I have told tone-deaf friends that they make their heavenly Father's heart swell with delight as they enter into effusive praise and worship. I have learned the wisdom of speaking a right word in the right season, often waiting on the Lord's direction as when to speak the word and when to withhold it until 'just the right time'. Robert William Brock My Daily Devotional Volume Seven September 12