I’m positive that we all have a long list of things that we can’t do.
It’s tempting to focus on this list, especially when it affects us and our lives directly.
For example, sometimes I can’t walk down the stairs normally because my knee swells up. It’s a little bit tempting to throw myself a pity party or allow myself to become angry or discouraged by my limitation.
The reality is, my knee is in this state at this time and I must bear the consequences. It won’t do me much good to sit around and contemplate my limitations, oft becoming more and more discouraged.
It’s always healthier to focus on what we can do.
I can encourage people. Instead of sitting around focusing on being discouraged the Lord used me to encourage somebody. It went like this:
She needed a hug. It was painted into her expressions and the way her shoulders slumped. “Well, back to work I go”. Eeyore had taken over her body and a full-size donkey-of-a-woman stood in her place; on hind legs.
Give her a hug was the nudge that I felt from el Señor, Holy Spirit.
I hesitated and when she left the room I mentioned that I thought I should have hugged her to the other person in the room.
“Oh, yes! Definitely hug her!” was her response. So I decided to hug her when I left.
A few minutes later I walked upstairs and said “hey, I just wanted to give you a hug!”
Within a couple minutes she was crying and saying how encouraged she felt. I felt the presence of the Lord very strongly and we were both laughing and ministering to each other for over an hour.
I felt the joy of the Lord so strongly during that hour of fellowship. She thanked me for “being obedient to the Holy Spirit” and confessed that she had felt spiritually down and dark all weekend. By the time our conversation was over, her affect had changed completely. It was as though life had been breathed into her. That’s what encouragement is.
It’s so tempting to focus on ourselves constantly. Which, in my opinion, is pretty depressing. A better place to enlist my focus is on the Maker of all things. The Father of all, Creator of All, Ultimate Guide, Wise King and Lover of my soul. Wow. What a better thing to be focused on! I can’t think of anything better.
Adrian Rogers once said “to rejoice is a choice”. So choose joy. The best way to do this is to keep your eyes and ears open for the leading of Jesus. God doesn’t look for perfect people to carry out His work. In fact, there is no one perfect but God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. God has always used the fools to shame the wise.
So give Him the glory today!!!!!!!!!!!!
<3
xxx
Like this post if it encouraged you! Leave a comment below saying how God used you when you didn’t feel fit to be used.