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The Gift of Encouragement

“We have different gifts according to the grace given to us…if it is encouraging, let him encourage.  Romans 12:6,8

    The 12^th chapter of Romans is one of many great chapters in the Bible.  It starts off by challenging us to offer our bodies “as a living sacrifice” to God.  It ends with a Godly recipe for how to treat our enemies and concludes with “overcome evil with good.”  And in-between, there are great truths about Christian living, not the least of which are using our gifts from God.

    Now when I think of gifts, I quickly pull up remembrances of great speakers or singers who kept me spellbound with no thought of time or place.  I think of wonderful teachers I have had who could explain complex concepts even my feeble mind could understand.  As a coach, I think of great athletes capable of doing things on their first try I could not do after a million tries.  Lets be honest, there are some gifts that we cannot ever attain no matter how hard we try…hence the name “gifts” I guess.

    But on the other hand, there are other gifts that while easier for some than others, they are reachable for all of us.  And in the cause of Christ, some of those gifts may end up being the most important gifts of all.  Romans 12:8 says about one particular gift…”if it is encouraging, let him encourage.”

    I recently heard a speaker friend of mine say, “encouragement is filling the heart and discouragement is emptying the heart.”  Unfortunately, as great as the first is, we might be better at offering up the latter.

I think the gift of encouragement if one of God’s greatest gifts.  To think we have the opportunity to fill someone’s heart with love, hope and joy…that God can use us to lift someone up when they are down or give them direction when they are lost…what a ministry that can be. 

    I have been surrounded all my life by God’s encouragers.  Many I have known since I was young…others I don’t even know their name. They have entered my life in so many ways.   God sent them to me when my heart was broken or when I felt like a failure.  Just when I would think all is lost, the gift would come…mostly when I least expected it.  I continue to be amazed at how God constantly reminds me of His never-ending presence in my life and how He uses others to fill my heart when it seems empty. 

    But even more important than those who have filled our hearts is the opportunities we have to fill someone else’s heart.  Everyday I am surrounded by those chances to make a difference…to reach out to someone else in Christ’s love…to focus on another instead of myself.

    Sharing love is always the right thing to do.  The love of Christ fills our hearts like nothing else.  I thank God for those who have filled my heart with that love and I praise Him for the opportunities ahead to use one of His greatest gifts…a gift even I can have.

“If it is to encourage, let Him encourage.”

    Thanks be to God for those who use the gift for others.

Love in Christ to you,

Billy

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