Be of Good Cheer

Have you ever just needed some encouragement? Life gets hard. Sometimes, really hard. Sometimes, things just pile up. Sometimes, you get tired of hearing about everything you are doing wrong and how you need to change this or that.

As I was chiding my children the other night for not doing something I told them to do, I felt like a broken record. I caught myself thinking, I wonder if they ask themselves if they ever do anything right. Don’t get me wrong, I do encourage my kids and praise them for each success. But I also stay after them a lot, probably more than is needed. Honestly, I get tired of hearing me, so I am sure they do too.

I get like that too. I know I am not perfect. I know that we all need improvement and need to grow in the Lord. I am constantly reading books or Bible studies to help me grow in one area or another. I try to reflect on each sermon from my pastor to see if I am the person he is talking about instead of pointing fingers. There have been times that I have felt like there was so much about me that needed to be changed, that I honestly did not know where to start. That’s when I need encouragement. I need to remind myself that “I may not be where I need to be, but thank God I'm not where I used to be. I’m okay and I’m on my way” - Joyce Meyer. Do I always have to feel bad about myself to be a good Christian? No!

Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” There is a difference between condemnation and conviction. I don’t have to wallow in what I am doing wrong. I do need to be aware of it, pray about it, do what I can do and let God change me through His Holy Spirit. The Bible is full of encouragement as well as conviction and instruction. We need a balance of both. Sometimes the circumstances of life can be overwhelming. We need to know that God loves us, is rooting for us, and will not let us go. We need to know that we are not alone. We need to know that we have strengths and not just weaknesses.

So, I intend to pour on the encouragement for my children, my husband and whomever I see that may need it (even me). I am going to use not only correction from the Bible, “Do everything without arguing or complaining” but also encouragement, “Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD.” Many scriptures even have both in the same sentence. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works(encouragement), which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them(instruction).”

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (Jesus) John 16:33