Encouragement | JOURNEY OF THANKFULNESS

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Joshua 24. “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. Then the people answered, ‘Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods!It was the Lord our God Himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because He is our God'” (Verses 14-18). Choose who you will serve. We all serve something, and that is our God given right. Joshua laid out clearly for Israel the distinction between the two choices. He didn’t merely tell them once, but he reminded them over and over again throughout his 110 year existence and before him Moses did the same. What’s my point? God does not hide from us the right way. He doesn’t only tell us the good. He clearly gives us both sides of the coin and allows us to choose which side we prefer. So like Joshua I lay out this challenge before all who read this post: “Choose you this day whom you will serve.” The choice is yours, so choose wisely. But as for me and my house we will serve GOD.

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. (Proverbs 25:11)

Let’s talk about encouragement (yes, it’s a big change from my recent downer attitude). I have writing about the pain, fears, and disappointments that I have been feeling lately. Today I realized something beautiful. Every time that my heart was aching and hurting, God either provided comfort or a word of encouragement. He didn’t just use tangible friends and family. He used my virtual WordPress friends as well (you guys ROCK!). Encouragement is so needed, it helps to remind us that God meets us right at the point of the need. It doesn’t always have to be miraculous, sometimes it is in the simple things that we see His hand the clearest. Today my friend Jackie was telling me the story of her day. Yesterday she was fine, bouncy, happy, and had the energy of 1000 horses (exaggeration…mine 😉 ). This morning she woke up with chills, fever, and achy everywhere. Her husband is a firefighter today is his on day. She has small children and needed help, but couldn’t find any. Out of the blue her father-in laws drops by and says, “I was in the neighborhood, just thought I’d drop by to see if you needed anything”, and just like that God met her need. I call moments like that a Godcidence. As she told me the story, I realized this, God is alive and active in our lives. He meets the needs when it needs to be met and not a second before. He has encouraged my heart and reminded me that He sees even the most minute of details of my life. He provided my friend with a babysitter, He will surely, absolutely, indubitably take care of me.

“Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrow“ (Luke 12:6-7).

So what’s my plan of attack? Accept God’s encouragement and trust in His LOVE.