Hebrews 3:13 "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness."
I was talking to a client this week, and in the course of the conversation, he mentioned Hebrews 3:7-19. The passage talks about the Israelites being bitter in the wilderness. It encourages us to not let bitterness rule in our life...and to have the right response. He went on to say it's not about how we act; it's about how we react to things. I wrote down the Scripture he was referring to, and the next morning in my quiet time, that's where I turned. The Lord led me to verse 13 for the verse to memorize for the week. It deals with my responsibility toward someone who is struggling in the wilderness.
Encourage one another daily
I want to stop right there for a moment. As a Christian, I know it's my responsibility to encourage others. But, I can't tell you how many times I've thought about calling a friend who was struggling or just trying to encourage someone else, only to get distracted and never follow through with the good intentions. I have a friend who is a CEO, and his hot button is the word "BUSY." He tells his employees that "busy" is a four-letter word. He doesn't want to hear that as an excuse, and it means nothing. So, I started to think about that. Does God consider "BUSY" the same as a cuss-word? Over an over I can think of times that God put a hurting friend on my heart to call or encourage, only to realize days later that I got so busy, lost track of time, and failed miserably. If I am giving Him excuse after excuse why I am not doing what He tells me to do, then my excuses are like vinegar to Him. He doesn't want to hear "I was BUSY, Lord." Yes, in that respect, "BUSY" is a four letter word to God, too.
Why does the Bible tell us to encourage one another? So that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
We are human. Things happen in our life that make us start to become bitter toward people, circumstances, and God. We use them as excuses for what is really happening in our hearts. "They did this to me...someone should have been there for me...they knew I was going through that hard time and no one called. Why did God let this happen? If He was a loving God, He would have never..."
Sure, if someone becomes bitter or allows sin to get a stronghold in their life, it is ultimately between God and them. But I can do something about it. That's where I can turn friendship into a verb. "Encourage" is a verb that God commands me to put into action. It doesn't take much to let someone know you're there for them. It can be a short one-liner text. It can be a quick phone call, prefaced by "I only have a few minutes, but I just wanted to call to see how you're doing." It can be a quick message sent on Facebook. If it's late in the day, maybe it's just praying for them and following up with the phone call the next day.
None of us want to see our friends struggling, and the one thing we can be for them is be a true friend, through thick and thin...even if it costs our time. I'm convicted today that I've been giving God the "I'm busy" excuse too many times. I'm committing today that if He brings a friend to mind that I need to encourage, I'm going to write it down and not go to bed until I've done something for them. (Maybe that's why the verse specifically mentions the word TODAY!) I usually won't be able to fix the problem, but I can always be obedient to what God has commanded me to do...ENCOURAGE! I'm starting to agree with my friend, BUSY is a four-letter word!
---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com