Encouragement 101

One of my favorite fellow "bloggers" is Debra. Recently she wrote a piece on encouragement. Have you encouraged someone today? I'm sharing most of her story below. Why not check out Debra's web log at: http://www.debrasotherthoughts.blogspot.com and leave a comment of encouragement on her site. Visiting "As I See It Now" is worth it just for the pictures she includes. The excellent writing is an added bonus. Check her out!


Where Do You Turn When Your Encouragers Are Out to Lunch?

Debra writes:

Encouragement 101. The best thing I learned in that class? "But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord" ...I Sam. 30:6 Very often, you can't wait for a truckload of Christians to come along and peel you off the Highway of Life. Sometimes you just have to ask God to do it. You have to let Him be The Great Encourager when all your regular encouragers are out to lunch... When they've not picked up the signals--spoken or otherwise--relaying the fact that you need some kind, uplifting words.

Sometimes, in fact, God purposely scrambles those signals in hopes that we will come to Him for encouragement. In that case, it does no good to get upset with the people who failed to race to us when we needed them. So often it's more a matter of God wanting us to run to the Throne, instead of the phone in times of need. (I am stealing that statement, I'll confess.) I am so thankful for Encouragement 101. Kind, healing words from other people--really, they're wonderful! But sometimes even the best encouragers fail us, for whatever reasons.

There is only one Encourager who never, ever fails.