HOW TO KEEP YOUR BATTERIES CHARGED!


After a few months off for the holidays, my honeymoon, and a hectic month of work, The Weekly Message of Encouragement (WME) is back! Why? Because, quite simply, we need encouragement. The world is filled with enough bad news, anger, and despair to make anyone want to stay behind locked doors and never come out of the house! But God has not given us such a privilege. Our Lord has instead called us to be salt and light to the world around us (Matthew 5:13-16), sharing the Good News of hope, redemption, and everlasting life with everyone (Acts 5:42).

The big question is, how do we find the momentum to carry this Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20)? I can't help but think of the well-known Energizer Bunny ad campaign ("It keeps going, and going, and going, and..."). Unlike the Energizer Bunny, it seems like our own batteries are all too easily drained. The culprit? Discouragement. All too often, discouragement seeps into our lives through cracks and fissures left by sickness, stress, doubt, and disappointment. As discouragement takes root, it proceeds to chokes out the excitement and enthusiasm we once had in our Christian walk.

It is clear that God expects us to "be ready in season and out of season" (2 Timothy 4:2) to salt the earth and give light to the world. So how do we keep our spiritual batteries charged? How do we prevent discouragement from sapping our energy and draining us of joy? By following the prescription given in Hebrews chapter 3, verses 12-14:

"Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called 'Today,' so that none of you will by hardened by the deceitfulness of sin" (NASV).

Did you catch that? You and I are to be about the business of encouragement. To whom? Each other. How often? Everyday. That means we need to be praying for one another, checking in with our brothers and sisters through phone calls and visits, and doing the kind of things that will make each other's day. Admittedly, we're all very busy people and that is precisely why we need to work together on this one. Listen once again to Hebrews 3:12-14, this time in a wonderful paraphrase from The Message:

"So watch your step, friends. Make sure there's no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as it is still God's Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn't slow down your reflexes. If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we're in this with Christ for the long haul."

Are you feeling spent? Out of energy? Batteries drained? Then it's time to plug into the source of power and life: the God who "gives endurance and encouragement" (Romans 15:5), who will "never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). Plug in today, not tomorrow or next week. Do you know someone else who is discouraged? Hasn't been to church in a while? Having a tough time at work or at home? Then pass along a message of encouragement to them today!

"May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word" (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, NIV).

-William J. Sherman-