Encouragement 101

Over the course of the last several months my assignment from the Lord has been to minister encouragement. In my own life, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to become discouraged, but the Holy Spirit reminds me of how faithful God has been and still is. As I hold on to His promises I’m encouraged to rejoice and to be thankful. So as an encourager, I want to talk about joy.

Joy while a little word provides some huge benefits. Look at Proverbs 15:13, & 15 MSG.
A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face; a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day. A miserable heart means a miserable life; a cheerful heart fills the day with song.
As you can see having joy promotes our mental and emotional well being. It even affects the way we interact with others. Joyful people are usually more pleasant to be around. Proverbs 12:25 MSG states that Worry weighs us down; a cheerful word picks us up. Particularly as Christians we can and should be filled with the joy of the Lord by the Holy Spirit not only for ourselves, but to help lift up the people we encounter as well.

However,Satan will try to use opposite negative emotions such as bitterness, depression and grief to debilitate us thereby hindering an effective witness for the Kingdom of God. I believe demonstrating the love of God and displaying His joy are vital tools to win people to Him. It is amazing what a difference a smile and kind words can make in someone’s day.

Joyfulness also impacts the health of our bodies.
Proverbs 17:22 GNB Being cheerful keeps you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time. God’s Word Translation says: A joyful heart is good medicine, but depression drains one's strength. People with various illnesses tend to rebound more frequently when they have a positive attitude.
The latter part of Nehemiah 8:10 says that the joy that the LORD gives you will make you strong. So we gain strength to deal with our battles when we have joy.
I know some may be thinking “too many things are coming against me to have joy. I’ve loss so much.” Circumstances don’t have to determine whether or not we will have joy,we decide. We can enter into the joy of the Lord by faith. Anyone who wants to experience and maintain joy will have to choose it while developing an attitude of gratitude.

I like the way Habakkuk 3:17-19 GNB sums it up.
Even though the fig trees have no fruit and no grapes grow on the vines, even though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no grain, even though the sheep all die and the cattle stalls are empty, I will still be joyful and glad, because the LORD God is my savior. The Sovereign LORD gives me strength. He makes me sure-footed as a deer and keeps me safe on the mountains.
This says to me that no matter what’s going on in our lives we can still take joy in the knowledge that the Lord is with us and will keep us even in the middle of trouble.
Let 2009 be the year you move forward with joy!