Tag: Encouragement

A Position of Power to Serve

Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interest of the other.”

This week the Lord spoke to me through his word and through the words of others about serving. He told me that he did not put me in a leadership position to grab power but to serve others. That statement really made me stop and think. I don’t think of myself as a person that is trying to be powerful, but I also don’t think of myself as a person that is trying to serve others. So, what does that make me, lukewarm? I don’t want to be lukewarm. I want to be serving others. I don’t want to be selfish or vain. I want to be humble.

During my studies, the Lord reminded me that he has given each of us gifts or strengths that we can use to serve others. Those gifts are seeds that you can sow every day in every aspect of your life. If your gift is leadership, you can sow seeds of encouragement. If your gift is positivity, you can sow seeds of enthusiasm. If your gift is coaching, you can sow seeds of improvement. The more seeds you sow, the more other people will be blessed. As you learn to exercise your “sowing muscle”, serving others will come naturally and it will refresh you.

Proverbs 11:25 says “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”

So, what can you do this week to sow into someone else? How can you use your gifts and strengths to serve others? Take a moment today to think about your strengths and write down how God can use them in every aspect of your life. As Michael Todd would say, “Be a serial sower.”

Lord, thank you for putting me in a position where I can serve others every day. Open my eyes to see the opportunities you put before me so that I can sow the seeds of your love in others. Amen.

Encouraging Words for Your Soul

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Yesterday as I was walking through Kroger to get a few things for my sister in laws birthday, a gentleman stopped me to share a few words of encouragement with me. I was shocked. All I could think at first was, how did he know I needed to hear those words? How did he know I needed those exact words of encouragement to keep going another day? How did he know that I was feeling tired and out of sorts and needed. . .God. That is how he knew. God knew. God sent me a sweet word of encouragement through a total stranger.

Has that ever happened to you? Have you received a word from a total stranger that encouraged you and turned your day around? Or have you been led to speak words of encouragement to someone you did not know? It is such an amazing gift, no matter what side you are on, the giver or the receiver. Proverbs 16:24 says, “Kind words are like honey – Sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.” An encouraging word offered at the right moment can be the difference between a good day and a bad day, between finishing the race and collapsing, or even between life and death.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” It can not get any clearer than that. We are called to encourage one another. We are called to build each other up. We are the hands and feet of Jesus here on Earth and when you feel that nudge to speak words of encouragement to someone…anyone…do it. The words will be sweet to their soul and your soul.

Lord, thank you for encouraging words. Help me to be sensitive to others needs and give me the courage to speak encouraging words to those whom you place my path. Amen.