Aug 27th, 2020: Encourage One Another

How to Encourage Someone: Letters of Encouragement - Unleash Your Inner Badass


Encouragement is what is needed these days. People are tired of this new reality. Some are physically tired because of the stress level they have to encounter or are banged up emotionally because of the absence of human interaction. So how do we go about encouraging one another?

Celebrating God-given gifts in people: God has gifted us differently. If we take time and look around, it is not that hard for us to appreciate God's gifts of others around us. I always enjoy good carpentry work, and honestly, sometimes I am jealous of those who have that talent. It is more than just a work of art. It is an expression of human spiritual beauty. I envy those who can express themselves via a musical instrument. It is as if they have another language to express their longing, their joy, their sorrow, and hope. Listen to them playing can take me to a place where I would have a taste of original beauty in creation. 

Remove barriers: Barriers based on fears and jealousy. We shut one another down because we are afraid of ourselves. We fail to embrace the talents of others and gifts because they are beautiful in their elements. Removing our barriers requires both humility to cheer other people on and the freedom to cherish the precious beauty of their talents. It is about believing that the creation of this world is far more beautiful and impressive than each one of us can truly fathom. Remaining in the confinement of our barriers is not healthy for our heart either because we are influenced by jealousy, hatred, and self-damnation.

Making space: This is one of the most challenging aspects of encouraging others. Sometimes we become impatient in helping others, and we invade their space. Our creativity needs space to develop and to mature. My youngest daughter, an artist, is a prime example of this. When she is in her creative element, I cannot and should not break into her creative space. Sometimes it is granting people the freedom to be so that they can experience their immense gift of creativity.

Philippians 1:6 “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Popular posts from this blog

Aug 31st, 2024: Confession

Image
Dealing with pain sometimes affects our ability and flexibility. A physiotherapist friend gave me a set of home exercises to help with that. They are simple yet intense at the same time. Dealing with our human brokenness sometimes affects our ability to see and hear God. Our commitment to spiritual disciplines must be at the core of our relationship with God. One of the disciplines I have been trying to embrace more fully is confession. It’s not just about recognizing where we have gone wrong; it’s about how we have chosen to live our lives independently from God. It’s about whether we truly want God to be part of our lives. The absence of meaningful confession will damage our freedom to experience intimacy with God. "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." - Proverbs 28:13
Read more

Sept 4th, 2024: Praying in Images

Image
It has been a rough few days. Living in immense pain does not allow us much energy to think about anything. I ended up praying in images, and not many words came out of my mouth. Most of the images were of people I know. God knew that I was praying for them as their faces came to my mind. I did not need to mention the circumstances or situations of their lives—He knows. My heart was at peace as I ended my days with these images. He will take care of my body, and I know this because I was able to get some sleep. Tomorrow is in His hands.
Read more

Oct 1st, 2022: Be With Those Who Suffer

Image
  Listening to a young woman who shared her experience of being raped repeatedly by a family member for over four years as a teenager made my heart ache. The man who did that was a leader of a church. He was imprisoned for seven months and released. He was her stepfather. Her mother chose to pick him over her after his release. Her life has changed forever. She had to go to a foster home. Her foster parents helped her with her restoration and her faith in God. Her supervisor at work asked me to see her because someone at work was inappropriate toward her. That triggered many emotions within her. I did not expect the story I heard from her. The meeting took longer than I thought, and it was toward the end of the day. She kept talking about her anger and the pain she felt when men treated her like a subject. I knew that the best I could do was to listen. She told me she had not been able to tell anyone as much as with me. God reminded me of the true calling of being a pas...
Read more