“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” (Isaiah 41:10)
Whether or not we will admit it to ourselves, each of us occasionally needs a word of encouragement, what you need to be cautious of is wanting them, and even worse, expecting them.
The hardcore biker in the roughest motorcycle gang needs them as well as the wife who simply cooks a meal for her husband. They lift us up, they give us a sense of worth, of value, and if pride can be kept out of one’s heart, they should be accepted, but never expected.
“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
This verse can be very displeasing for those who expect these encouraging words, for their pride is no less than our adversary’s at the moment, instead of glorifying the Lord they seek for vainglory and believe this verse states that all they do is a complete and total waste of time, what they hear is, “Your deeds and words are of no value whatsoever.”
Now, if you would, consider this verse.
“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12)
If we can do nothing of ourselves that can bring glory to the Living God, if only those deeds and words are done through us and not by us, why would we need to give an account? The rewards we will receive, are they given to us because we allowed the Holy Spirit to work through us? If we do only that which we have been commanded to do and thereby are unprofitable, yet still servants, will we remain less than those who have, what, gone that extra mile, so to speak? Allowed the Holy Spirit to work through us with less restrictions than others.
Can one only partially die to self?
“And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.” (Deut. 31:8)
These are wonderful words of encouragement, of assurance, and we need them, especially when we have traveled far away from home as the prodigal son did. When we finally come to ourselves, look up and find that we are now one of the lost sheep, when the season of sin enters into our life.
“I will never leave you or forsake you.”
There are fewer words that calm our souls.
Sin causes us to become discouraged, for it brings with it not only the knowledge that we have dishonored the Lord, but moments of despair within ourselves and here is where the encouragement is needed the most.
“Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.” (Luke 17:9)
The lost sheep is lonely and afraid, the prodigal son just wants to go home, and they are welcome to, but this must be accomplished in the heart first, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1st John 1:9)
That broken and contrite heart my friends is how your Father in heaven is encouraged. He sees the truth of it, He sees the servant, no, the son who has realized the error of his ways, has realized that it is not just the Almighty he has dishonored, but his Father in heaven.
“To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (Eph. 1:6)
We who have been born-again will never be cast out, we will never be unaccepted, this is encouragement enough. To know His love for us is eternal, that it will never wane, never subside, always be there is all the encouragement any of us should ever need.
And we do need it.
And your reward?
“After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” (Gen. 15:1)
Yes, the Most High looks favorably upon those who say, “Here am I, send me,” for that shows initiative, it reveals a desire to serve in whatever form of fashion He desires.
Now, you must ask yourself this question, are you encouraged or fearful of speaking these two words to Him.
“Use me.”
