Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions…
–1 Thessalonians 3:1-3
There was a fireman who went up a tall ladder into a burning building. He rescued a little baby, and was coming down that ladder with a baby in his arms. Flames were leaping out of the windows he was passing by, and smoke was billowing out of that building. It seemed like the fireman was about to be overcome.
When the fire chief on the ground saw his man struggling, he turned to the other firemen and said, “Cheer him on, boys! Cheer him on!” And as those firemen began to cheer their companion on, he was buoyed in his spirit and got down that ladder safely with the child in his arms.
People need to be cheered. They need to be encouraged. And when that kind of encouragement is missing in the life of a man or a woman, they’re easily overcome by the flames and billowing smoke of life. But if others will come around them and spur them on, they can do so much more!
Maybe today, you need a shot of encouragement in your life. Or, maybe God’s telling you to be more intentional at encouraging someone else. Whatever it is, remember that the greatest encouragement you can give or receive is one that’s based in your identity in Christ. So remember that in Christ, you can be encouraged knowing that His Holy Spirit dwells in you!
BE ENCOURAGED AND ENCOURAGE OTHERS IN CHRIST BY REMEMBERING GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT INDWELLS AND EMPOWERS EVERY BELIEVER.
