LET US ENCOURAGE OURSELVES SO WE CAN ENCOURAGE OTHERS IN THE LORD
1 THESSALONIANS 3:1-5
Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone;
And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith:
That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.
For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.
For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.
There are many depressed out there, many who are still struggling for survival, many who are still having a conflict of mind whether to continue living or commit suicide. It is high time we believers take up the place of being an encouragement to someone out there. It is high time our lives become an encouragement to someone who never had reasons to live.
We are able to overcome life's challenges-not because we have or had the strength but because God wants our lives to encourage others who will also walk that path so we shouldn't hold back anything God has impacted our lives as a source of encouragement to others.
Paul sent Timothy to encourage the people so they would not turn away from faith because He knew what the devil could achieve once he gives us reasons to doubt God and our faith and become discouraged about life and our Christian journey.
Paul knew the devil takes glory in when he is able to persecute us and make us turn away from our faith and never wanted the devil to win.
We should never allow the devil to win in our lives and the rest of our Christian brothers around us and that is possible when we allow ourselves and life to be used as an encouragement to them.
Encouragement is a very powerful tool that helps in keeping us going in faith when the going is tough, it is the tool that keeps us standing firm no matter what we are going through.
The truth be told that when things are going well for us, hardly is there need for encouragement or hardly anyone needs encouragement but when things turn around for the worse, it is time to get all the encouragement we need which is the word of God and the mouth of the believers around us. God himself sends the Holy-spirit to encourage us when we are going through hard times and this assures us of His steadfast love for us.
Let us not let the devil win over our lives in the trial times instead let us learn to take solace, encouragement in the Lord because the tempter comes to bring us down in our time of sorrow and challenges.
Even in that hard and troubling situation, we are facing, we should learn to be an encouragement to others.