A Bright Future

BRIGHT FUTURE

Be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." (1 Corinthians 15:58, NLT)

Adoniram Judson spent 12 years in Burma without a convert. So the board sent him a very diplomatic letter, suggesting that he should come home. They asked him what the prospects in Burma were for the future. His reply was, "The future is as bright as the promises of God." His confidence in God was the reason he could stay. Although he suffered a great deal and it took a long time for revival to break out, it finally did.

Are you in a place of discouragement right now? Does it seem like you are getting nowhere in your life? Does your job lack fulfillment? Does there seem no fruit for your ministry?

"So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up." (Galatians 6:9, NLT)

Fruitful Praise

Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. (2 Corinthians 13:11, NLT)

Advertising genius, Alex Osborn, integrated creativity with everything he did--every day. Considered the "father of brainstorming"--a term he helped coin in 1939--Osborn devoted his life to promoting and teaching creative thinking. And the fiercest enemy of creativity, he believed, was criticism: "Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom, while discouragement often nips it in the bud. Any of us will put out more and better ideas if our efforts are appreciated."

How often a good idea has been smothered by criticism. And many a person has been robbed by their full potential because their first faltering steps towards success have been cut down by negative comments. So be careful not to pour cold water on the bright ideas of others. Be an encourager today you may be helping someone fulfill their dreams.

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The Power of Applause

Encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. (Hebrews 10:25, NLT)

A violin instructor explained how children as young as two, three and four years old are taught to play violin. The first thing the children learn, he said, is a proper stance. And the second thing the children learn--even before they pick up the violin--is how to take a bow. "If the children just play the violin and stop, people may forget to show their appreciation," the instructor said. "But when the children bow, the audience invariably applauds. And applause is the best motivator we've found to make children feel good about performing and want to do it well."

We all respond to applause and we all need encouragement.

“I have yet to find the man, however great or exalted his station, who did not work better and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than he would ever do under a spirit of criticism” Charles Schwab. Pres. Bethlehem Steel.

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Its hard to live when nobody cares if you die

A high school student in the USA committed suicide.  He left a note saying, "It's hard to live when nobody cares if you die." 

 His classmates were badly shaken by this traumatic event.  Realizing the opportunity to help these young people through this troubling time, a teacher talked to the students about how important it is that people feel valued. So, he told them to imagine they were about to die. Then he gave an assignment: "Write a note to tell someone how important he or she is to you."

Sandy, who had a rocky relationship with her mother, was especially moved by the idea that she might die without telling her mom how important she was, so she wrote a note: "We've had some rough times and I know I haven't been a very good daughter but I know I'm lucky to have you in my life. You  are the best person I've ever known. Thanks for not giving up on me."

 

 She told her mom about the assignment and gave her the note. Her mom cried and hugged Sandy but said little. The next morning Sandy found a note on her mirror. "Dearest daughter," it said, "I want you to know how much you are valued. Being your mother is the most important thing in my life. The truth is I've felt like such a failure I was seriously considering ending it all. I thought you'd be better off without me. Your appreciation makes my life worth living."

"Let us think of ways to motivate and encourage one another to acts of love and good works." (Hebrews 10:24, NLT)

We All Need Encouragement

 "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." (Hebrews 10:24-25, NLT)

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Even great people need encouragement. Dr Chuck Swindoll tells of a TV documentary when Dr Daniel Boorstin, the librarian of Congress, brought out a little blue box containing the contents of President Lincoln's pockets on the night he was assassinated. Among the ordinary items were some worn newspaper clippings.

The clippings told of some of Lincoln's great deeds. One of them reported a speech by John Bright which said that Lincoln was one of the greatest men of all times. In 1865, millions shared a contrary opinion. Lincoln's critics were fierce and many; his was an agony that reflected the suffering and turmoil of his country.

There is something touchingly pathetic in the picture of this great leader's sitting alone under a candlelight and seeking self-assurance from the comfort of a newspaper clipping.

Yet even when his critics were hanging him in effigy, Abraham Lincoln found somebody who believed in him and he put the reminder in his pocket to read and be encouraged when nobody was looking.

Is there somebody that you can encourage today? There is tremendous power in words of encouragement. Power to motivate and transform and shape the future. Never underestimate the guidance you give by the words you speak or do not speak. Jesus spoke to a woman at a well, and her life and the lives of her neighbours experienced a miraculous change. Peter preached at Pentecost and 3,000 souls came to salvation through faith.

Is there somebody you need to encourage today? Maybe you need to write that long-overdue letter! Write it to your child who is now grown up. Or to a parent that sacrificed so much for you. Write it to that pastor that faithfully teaches you each week. Write it to that fellow employee who has been doing the same menial job since the start of the millenium. Don't wait.

Put your arms around your son or daughter the next chance you get. No matter what ages they are. Look into their faces and tell them what they mean to you. When they bury you someday, those will be the words they will remember. They will be imbedded in their minds and they will never forget them.

Dealing with Discouragement

 

In 1835 a man visited a doctor in Florence, Italy. He was filled with anxiety and exhausted from lack of sleep. He couldn't eat, and he avoided his friends. The doctor examined him and found that he was in prime physical condition. Concluding that his patient needed to have a good time, the physician told him about a circus in town and its star performer, a clown named Grimaldi. Night after night he had the people rolling in the aisles. "You must go and see him," the doctor advised. "Grimaldi is the world's funniest clown. He'll make you laugh and cure your sadness." "No," replied the despairing man, "he can't help me. You see, I am Grimaldi!"

Discouragement and depression touches the lives of many  people. It is not unusual for even the most spiritual people to have their days of doubt.

Moses, on one occasion at least, was overwhelmed by his circumstances. After he had listened to the constant complaining of the children of Israel, he basically told the Lord, "I'm fed up. Just kill me. I don't want to deal with this another day."

Elijah, after his contest with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, heard that Jezebel had put a contract out on his life. He was so overwhelmed by his circumstances, so discouraged, so uncertain, and so filled with doubt that he said to God, "Take my life."

Even the great apostle Paul had moments when he was discouraged. He wrote to the church at Corinth, "We were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life" (2 Corinthians 1:8).

Jeremiah, the great prophet, faced it as well. He was ridiculed and harassed for giving out the Word of God. Because he was tired of the pressure he was facing, it made him want to stop giving out God's Word altogether. He said, "The word of the Lord was made to me a reproach and a derision daily. Then I said, 'I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name' " (Jeremiah 20:8–9).

The great baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon was prone to times of depression and discouragement.  He looked back upon dark hours in his own life and said: “I bear willing witness that I owe more to the fire, and the hammer, and the file, than to anything else in my Lord's workshop. I sometimes question whether I have ever learned anything except through the rod. When my schoolroom is darkened, I see most.” 

Perhaps you have been there. Maybe you have lived for a while behind closed doors. Many good people have. I was reading recently about a young lawyer who descended into the valley of despond. Things were going so poorly for him that his friends thought it best to keep all knives and razors away from him for fear of a suicide attempt. In fact, during this time he wrote in his memoirs, "I am now the most miserable man living. Whether I shall ever be better, I cannot tell. I fear I shall not." The young lawyer who unleashed these desperate feelings of utter hopelessness? His name was Abraham Lincoln.

The people who consistently manifest the greatest joy in life are those who will simply not be discouraged by their circumstances. As author Zig Ziglar says, "If life hands you a lemon, take the lemon and make lemonade." .  Recognize that God is always with you - even in the middle of the most discouraging circumstances.  Whenever you feel afraid, choose to trust God despite your fear.  God may not change your circumstances when you'd like Him to, but He will always give you the encouragement you need to deal with them as long as necessary.

You are not the only one who has ever faced doubt or uncertainty, or has been perplexed as to why God did not work in a certain way. We may be in the midst of God's work and can't see the big picture as He can. 

Keep holding on to God's promise that He has an important plan for your life.  Keep praying for the encouragement you need to fulfill all of His purposes for you.