Be an Encourager

By: Shari A. Miller

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

We've all have spiritual gifts. Just to name a few: some of us are teachers and preachers, some have been given the gifts of knowledge and understanding, while some have the gift of encouragement.

The gift of encouragement, is the gift that I feel the Lord has blessed me with. I have heard Him speak to me at various times throughout my life telling me to be an encourager. For me this was predominantly seen as the Lord allowed me to be a social worker for 11 years of my life. I loved to work with homeless families and let them know that more than anything Jesus loved them. I wanted to let them know that God would always be walking by their side as they moved forward in rebuilding their lives.

Well, now here I am, no longer a social worker, but rather someone who spends her days working full time fighting cancer. But God is not finished with my journey as an encourager. When I first was told that I had cancer, God told me that this journey had to mean something. As I trusted God, and walked this journey with Him, I knew that he wanted me to encourage everyone I met along the way. Whether it be my doctor, my chemo nurses, the x-ray techs, or other patients, to the best of my ability I was going to show them  the light of Jesus living through me. I was going to let them know that they could get through their life's journey with the Son lighting their way. In high school I had a saying on my closet door that I wrote ...

"A light in the world for You I'll be an image, a reflection of the love you've shown me."

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven." Matthew 5:16

A lot of time has passed since I was a social worker, and since I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, ten years to be exact. Now here we are in the year 2021, our present looks very different from our past. It seems as if society has split in two. We're facing a pandemic, job loss, financial crisis, and political unrest the likes we've never seen before. Being in prayer with my Savior is how I spend most of my time getting through these difficult days. I pray for things to change and especially pray that the division in this land would stop and people would focus on God. Prayer is such an important way that we can encourage others around us.

In these days, it can be so easy to become a keyboard warrior and become swallowed up in the commotion of life and say things we shouldn't. People can be so convicted in their beliefs that they sometimes tend to overlook what really matters. As Christians, the most important thing to keep in mind is to develop a Christlike speech that builds up and edifies believers around us, even those whom we do not agree with. 

 "Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, as fits the occasion, that it may benefit those who listen."  Ephesians 4:29

As believers in Christ during these difficult times we need to encourage one another and use our speech to build each other up. With our humanistic, worldly passions, sometimes we can be quick to overreact and respond negatively to those who do not agree with us. However, when we take a Christlike stance to love the people who disagree with us, we can achieve a greater sense of unity overall.

I know we are not living in an easy time. Let's turn to God as we face these hard days and ask Him how we can be an encourager in the the army of Christ, We need to listen for His reply and follow through on His leading. I've found many a times that when I take my eyes off of self and focus on others, my whole outlook changes for the better. Won't you join me as we become encouragers for Christ?