Throughout the Bible we see people in trouble and when times get rough they consistently wind up with fewer and fewer supporters around them. In the extreme case of Job, we even see his friends telling him to repent and change, when he has done nothing wrong. They just assumed that all of the tragedy and pain that beset him had to be due to sin in his life. Their response was not to encourage, but to discourage and challenge him, then to leave him alone.
Yet we also see throughout the Bible the need for us to be encouraged by others when we have tough or rough times. God is always there and He does carry us through the tough times. Specifically that is the duty of Holy Spirit. Jesus' description of the duties of the Holy Spirit is found in John 14:16-18
John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you
Another example of God’s promise to protect you can be found in Deuteronomy, chapter 31, verse 6.
Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
However, just because the Holy Spirit lives in every Christian does not remove us from the requirement to support each other via prayer, encouraging words, and emotional / spiritual support. Support amongst believers is one of the main reasons we see scriptures like the following -
Hebrews 10:25 - Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
We need to be around other believers to be encouraged, corrected, supported and matured. We can not grow and mature without regular interaction with other believers. Hebrews 10:24 says it perfectly.
Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
So, the question is how to do this. We all have busy lives, pressing schedules, stressful relationships, and conflicting priorities, but that does not make us exempt from supporting, encouraging, and maturing other believers. Most of a us have 10 to 15 minutes a few times a week that we could invest in encouraging others, instead of watching a TV program that we are really not interested in, or working on a project that is not due for weeks, or researching some minute issue or object on the web, or taking a nap or resting on the sofa. So what follows is a list, by no means complete, of things that can be done quickly and easily that could really benefit other believers and seekers.
- 1) Send a personal email - not a form email to everyone on your email list, but a specific note to a person asking about specific things in their life - work, family, job, hobby, pets, etc, or thanking them for a specific act or work that they did. Be sure to include a line that encourages them to contact you back with specific prayer request and issues. Over time this could develop into both a means of encouragement and support of both parties.
- 2) A card - I know it is old fashioned, but it is cheap and effective. Send a post card, or short letter, to someone, be it a pastor, a teacher, a seeker, a visitor a fellow member, a prayer warrior, a youth assistant, a youth, a senior, a shut in, and the list can go on and on. Again, reference a specific thing that you would like to thank them for, support them in, pray for them about, etc. Be sure to include your return address and phone number.
- 3) A phone call - continuing from the previous idea. Call someone that you want to encourage, support or pray for. I know many people are not comfortable calling people so you can always send a card as mentioned above, but if you are comfortable with the phone, call someone. Just thank them for what they do, or find out how you can pray for / support them spiritually.
- 4) Start a web site - do what Team Swap did. There are free sites available all over the web, and though the time required to get one started may be more then fifteen minutes, updating and changing one each week does not have too take much time. Start a blog (an online journal), they are easy to set up and easily updated whenever you like. There are numerous free blog sites on the web. Then anyone with web access can come to your site, or blog, and learn more about God, His love, His care, and His encourager (the Holy Spirit). You can also share a link too your site / blog with shut ins and others that may want to see what is going on at your local church, see pictures of old friends, and whatever else you want to add. If you have any questions or need advice / help on how to do the above please contact webmaster@team-swap.com and we will do what we can to help you.
- 5) Bake or cook something - then take it to someone, maybe a shut in, a visitor, a member, a nursing home, an outreach ministry, a prayer group, etc. Nothing fancy, some store bought roll cookies, a will be fine. Put them in the oven, go back to whatever you are doing and pull them out when done. If you do not want to use the oven, then make some sandwiches and put them on a paper plate. It is not the quality of the food that matters, it is the quality of the heart behind it that does.
These are just a few suggestions, I am sure you can come up with some more if you think about it. We all have enough time to show the love of Christ to a few people every week.
One very important thing to remember is to not just show it for a few minutes each week when doing one of the above activities. Share God’s love everyday with a smile to a sales clerk, a thank you to a co-worker or waiter / waitress, a touch to your spouse, or children, listening to a troubled friend, and other numerous small but effective means of showing people that you do care, that you are concerned, and that you want to make their life better because they have interacted with you.
One vital thing to remember is that when you tell someone you are going to do something, do it. If you commit to pray for someone, some thing, some group, some event, then do it. If you say you will send a card, do it. If you say you will call someone, do. If you say you will volunteer, do. This is part of having the character of Christ. Our word is our bond and it is all others have to judge our trustworthiness and honesty on.
Go forth into all nations, encouraging and being the hands, feet, mouth and eyes of the Lord.
