Words of Encouragement!

Encouragement: to inspire with courage and hope; stimulate

We have to remember my friends, "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalms 118:24). To rejoice means to feel or show great joy or delight. So this scripture tells us that we should be feeling and showing great joy every single day! That means we should be doing this over and over again - even when we may not understand everything that is happening to and around us right now. No matter what, we still must stand and rejoice, because of who God is, and we must continue to be strong and stay encouraged in the Lord.

We are in a season that we have never walked through before. The majority of us have never seen businesses closed and so many people out of work as we see today. Despite this, we must be and remain encouraged and thank God that we are still alive and well. We must not complain about how tired of things we are, because it could certainly be worse. Instead, let's focus on what the Lord has already done for us, and be mindful of how gracious and merciful He is; how slow to anger He is and of the great kindness that He has shown to us. My aunt was just telling me the other day that she stays encouraged because she still has eyes to see, ears to hear, a mouth to talk with and feet to walk with. So let's take a note from my aunt and be inspired with courage and hope!

Let's encourage ourselves by thinking on the wonderful things that God has already done and the wonderful things the Bible tells us about ourselves. Things like "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made..." (Psalms 139:14), and "I can do all things through Christ which strenghteneth me" (Philippians 4: 13). Don't forget about "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us" (Romans 8:37) and "In every thing give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). How can you not feel encouraged when you read all of those words of truth?!

Remember my friends, "For His anger endureth but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" (Psalms 30:5). So no matter what we (and the world) are going through right now, we can rest assured that joy will come in the morning.

I hope these words of encouragement will stimulate you with courage and hope. God loves us and none of what's going on is a shock or surprise to Him!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!