Encouragement - What, How, Why & WhoSample

Perspective

The best encouragement gives us the perspective that God is with us. We can say "You can do it!" or "Keep going!" or "Hang in there!" but that kind of encouragement is based in what we can do. The best encouragement reminds us or helps us to see that God is with us.

Our passage for today is from the story of Elisha and the Arameans. The Arameans discovered that God was telling Elisha where their troops were going to raid so that the Israelites could avoid them. They sent a garrison to grab Elisha at his farm. When Elisha's 'butler' went outside to chop wood etc, he saw the troops on the hill surrounding the house.

Terrified he ran in to tell Elisha. Elisha's enigmatic answer was that there were more with them than with the Arameans. The servant couldn't believe it, so Elisha prayed that the servant's eyes would be opened. Then the servant saw the hillsides crowded with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Then, just as the servant's eyes where opened, Elisha prayed that the enemies' eyes would be closed!

Our enemies often intimidate us. Deadlines vex us, critics surround us, doubts assail us, circumstances tire us, and bullies crowd us. Like the servant, we make the mistake of looking at the number of enemies, and we let the picture of our enemies define our concepts of God! We assume that because we can see our enemies, God is not there. We assume that because our enemies look powerful, God is not. We assume that because our many enemies are here, God has left!

We assume wrongly!

Sometimes it would be nice to have Elisha's gift, to have our eyes opened to see the heavenly forces that God sends out on our behalf. It would be so nice to see that our enemies will never be able to wipe us out. We have something Elisha did not have. Two things in fact! Firstly, Elisha did not know that only one-third of the angels joined in Satan's rebellion against God. For every agent of evil, there are two angels! Secondly, when Jesus died on the cross, He overcame sin, death, and Satan. The cross is the D-Day of the battle, and Jesus' second coming is the V-Day.

While the war has been won, there is a lot of mopping up to do and a lot of prisoners of war to be set free. It is our privilege to participate in this process, and when we face enemies who come from the one who came to steal, kill, and destroy, we can know God's presence...and that His army is great...and that Jesus is the champion!

Encouragement is reminding ourselves and others that God is at work in our circumstances regardless of what our eyes can see...