“...where seldom is heard
a discouraging word
and the skies are not cloudy all day.”
Have you ever wondered about those lines? I have, and Sunday night I learned that I'm not the only one. Toby, our deacon that drums and fills the pulpit when Pastor Mike is gone, preached about the tongue.
The ministry of encouragement is a huge ministry and it's one that can be done by anyone and everyone. You don't have to have the gift of encouragement to exercise it, and if you use that excuse, then you're missing out on great blessings.
To be a heart-felt encourager, the encouraging needs to come from an overflow of joy that comes from Jesus. And ALL of us can have that overflow of joy! It takes time spent at the feet of Jesus.
Maybe we ought to become like the cowboys in that old song! Just think of the changes that would make in our homes, our work places, our churches and our towns! Learning to reign in our tongue so we speaking encouragingly to each other would spread peace and love instead of contention and discord.
Often we combat our evil thoughts most effectively if we absolutely refuse to allow them to be expressed in words.
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Does that mean we don't speak truth? Of course not! It means we speak the truth in love, gently, not just letting loose our tongue and blurbing out whatever we think without thinking about the person on the receiving end and how it will make them feel.
It means that when we hear gossip, we make sure it dies with us, we break the chain of gossip by not talking about (or even 'sharing') what we heard.
It means we bite our tongue until the urge to speak our 'evil thoughts' is gone. And if we draw (our own) blood, then we draw blood.
“What a tragedy it is, when praise hits our brain and fails to pass our lips.” ~Toby Brooks
We can replace the gossip and cutting words with words of genuine praise. Does that color look good on a person? Tell them!
When we feel encouraged we naturally turn around and encourage those around us
Let's be the Christian cowboys! Let's make sure that 'seldom is heard a discouraging word' and it will bring about 'skies that are not cloudy all day.'
What a creative blog today, Peej, but am not surprised. You are always very creative:) You are an awesome encourager. Love you and miss you so much.
ReplyDeleteVery clever, Peej - and I LOVE the quotes you pulled out. Excellent advice and message for us all. Loved it.
ReplyDeleteINcredible advice, and Hoowwwwwwwdeeeee, cowgirl! Don't you look beeeeeeauueeeeeetiful today! In the heart, that is. Great post.
ReplyDeleteGreat message here. It is important that we encourage one another. Probably far too often, we don't realize how much an encouraging word, can really lift someones spirits. Thanks for sharing.
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