Scripture

When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside. But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.

~2 Corinthians 7:5-6, NLT

Quote

“Encouragement is awesome. It can actually change the course of another person’s day, week, or life.”

~Chuck Swindoll

Paul uses the word encourage six times in 2 Corinthians 7 and the word discourage once. Paul is a super-hero of faith and we tend to put him on a pedestal but he was very human. He got discouraged and was filled with anxiety. He was worried about the church at Corinth. He had written them a harsh letter and had heard nothing. I think he was doing a lot of second guessing and perhaps some regretting. Bottom line, he was anxious, afraid and discouraged. Fear always leads to discouragement.

What did it take to cheer Paul up? Titus showed up with news from Corinth and his presence and the good news he brought filled Paul’s heart with joy. Isn’t that something? Paul was down and one man and one visit cheered him up.

I read a story  a few years ago about a Jewish man who was dying in a hospital in Israel. This man’s entire family had been killed by Muslims when he was a teenager. Somehow he got involved with drug smugglers and then got addicted to morphine. He was arrested and imprisoned several times but he never changed his life style. He spent a total of 19 years in British prisons; now he was dying and no one cared. A Christian handy man was working on something in his room when he noticed the man’s despair. He sat down by his bed and ask him if he was prepared to die and did he know Jesus. The man shared his life story and then ask if there was any hope that Christ would forgive him. Long story short, the handy man with the word of God convinced him that he could be forgiven and he trusted Christ as his Savior. When the handy man left his room late that evening, he said, “I am ready to go be with my Savior.” He was promoted that same night.

There are four things that come from the devil: lies, fear, confusion and discouragement. God is not the source of fear, lies, confusion our discouragement. When someone says something hurtful and discouraging to you, just realize the source. Unfortunately the devil can use people to discourage us. When it happens, don’t get angry at the devil’s messenger or dwell on the discouraging words. Simply realize that it is the devil trying to discourage you. Jesus never discouraged anyone so know the source.

Extra

Wow, it was nice walking to office this morning. It would be a good time to set outdoors if it wasn’t for the bugs. I have a mosquito that attacks me every morning at the same spot.  Continue to pray for Jennifer, Courtney and Melanie…all those on our prayer list.

God bless you, have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.