Encouraged By You

Transcript

Greetings in Jesus’ name! Welcome to this amazing new morning and this beautiful new day! I believe that the Lord’s presence is available for us today. If we will just be sensitive, receptive, there is so much to receive from every situation, problem, challenge, blessing, opportunity; there can be a fresh lesson, wisdom, understanding that we can receive from all of life’s circumstances.

The problem with so many of us is that we think the solution or answer will come from some great man of God, someone that is anointed. We think that God is about to send an angle from heaven or we think that there is going to be a bolt of electricity that will flow through us and the Holy Spirit will suddenly come and solve all the problems. There is no doubt that God does do all of that, and yet there are so many times when God would use something very simple, someone very ordinary to bless us. Are we ready, receptive, open hearted? Are we in this mode where we allow the Lord to use anybody or anything or absolutely any circumstances in our life to speak to us, minister to us, change us, mold us, make a new personality?

Apostle Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians Chapter 3:7 – “So, in all our trouble and suffering we have been encouraged about you, friends. It was your faith that encouraged us”

Apostle Paul and his friends were going through a lot of trouble and suffering, lot of trials, persecutions. There would be times when they would not have enough food to eat, they did not have a shelter, there would be times when they would be ship wrecked. They went through highs and lows in their journey to serve the Lord.

In all those times of trouble and suffering it was normal for him to feel discouraged and low. The truth being told, all of us go through some kind of discouraging situation on a daily basis. It may not be as big as what apostle Paul faced, but we do face discouragements, problems, disappointing and hurtful situations in our lives. The question is, “how do we encourage ourselves in the midst of all of that, how do we receive help in the midst of all of that?”

We should be inspired by Apostle Paul’s humility. He says that they have been encouraged to hear about the church and people of Thessalonica. Paul calls them his friends. He says that whenever they heard about them, they were encouraged.

It should have been the other way round where apostle Paul being the man of God, the apostle, the anointed and the sent one to the church, should have been encouraging the church. Instead, he says that when he went through the trouble and suffering, his encouragement came from the church.

He had to watch their lives, study them, look at what they had to offer him. This would have taken some work on apostle Paul’s part because the church is not preaching to him, they are not sending him encouraging text messages, financial support, they are not able to rescue him from the persecution that he is in.

Yet, when apostle Paul would meditate on what the church is doing, when he would fix his eyes on how the church is growing, when he would study their responses to suffering, faith and God. He says, “I, myself, am encouraged, I am strengthened, revived just by thinking about you.

What a beautiful testimony it is about the church at Thessalonica that just thinking about them made a man of God, an apostle, the apostle to the gentiles, the great reverend Paul was encouraged just because he was thinking about them. He goes on to say, “it was indeed your faith that encouraged me.”

I am going to release this blessing over each and everyone of you that are listening to me today; may your faith, walk with God, relationships, your responses to your troubles and suffering be the reason for someone else to be encouraged, strengthened, revived and vice versa.

I pray that today, like apostle Paul, you will not count it too low to receive encouragement and help from someone who has not walked with God as much as you have, that you will look at a little child or would see a new believer in your church or you would see a young, married couple and you are going to receive inspiration for your life, for your marriage, finances, healing, whatever area that you are struggling with, where you are suffering, you will receive encouragement by someone else’s faith.

Not just an anointed man of God, not just someone out there doing great things for God, but you will receive encouragement from the ordinary people, the normal things from people just by studying and observing and giving extra attention to details you will derive encouragement today.