Words of Encouragement

Have you ever been talking with a friend where you can feel the total weight of their emotions? In their voice, you hear discouragement at the struggles they are facing from the circumstances of life. The longer they talk, you begin to feel blinded by the hurts in your own life.

After your friend is done sharing with you, you realize that you didn’t do anything but listen. In reality, you agree that your friend has an uphill battle with what they are facing, and so do you. Now you feel defeated and decide that your friends, family, or anyone else for that matter, should never come to you for encouragement when they have a need.

Wrong! Not true at all! Although some of us might have had a similar experience by talking to a friend or even in our own lives, there is a better way to respond. God has equipped us with tools and given us gifts so we can stand up against the hopelessness of this world and the presence of the enemy. The enemy wants us to believe that life is hopeless. That is one of his many lies. We can find hope in the Word of God, prayer, and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and the enemy does not want us to know or believe that truth.

If I can be completely honest, I was that friend when my youngest daughter, Madison, went off to college four years ago. By the middle of the year, it was clear that there was something very wrong. With blood tests, an endoscopy, and a colonoscopy (all at 18 years of age) I was at my wit’s end with what to do to help her. I was the Women’s Ministry Coordinator at that time and would meet weekly with my dear friend, Connie, who was also a pastor at church. She and I would meet to go over ministry stuff, and I would pour my heart out to her with the pain I was feeling for my daughter. I felt helpless and would talk about how ill-equipped I felt. Connie would encourage me and pray before I left, and somehow I would always feel better.

During this time, God began to wake up my twin sister, Saroya, at 5:00 am and call on her to pray. Saroya would call me, and we would pray together. Also, I was so grateful for the church that Madison had chosen to attend. At least she was getting spiritual nourishment as God was using it to feed her. We also found out from one of the doctors she saw that she was gluten intolerant and had contracted C. Diff from either her dorm or dining hall. This was made worse by the antibiotics she was given after she had her wisdom teeth out. She was so sick by Christmas she felt as though she was dying and would often tell me that she felt defeated.

Among the many visits I made to see Maddy, I brought Saroya and her daughter Raegan along. We decided to visit Madison’s church while we were waiting for her to get out of class one day. Saroya remarked about the trail from the college to the church. She was surprised that it looked sort of desolate and uphill to her. She shared God had given her a visual picture of Madison walking alone all of those times in prayer, and it was apparent the walk was a struggle to get where she was going. The walk to church was the picture that God had given my sister.

As we talked on the way home, we realized that the enemy had been trying to do everything in his power to discourage Madison from going to school, church, or anywhere else. Satan’s plan of attack was to make her feel defeated, which she often did. Saroya told me that God would often lead her to read Joshua 1:9 as she prayed for Madison. She shared how God used Joshua and the story of Jericho as a metaphor for how we as believers should prepare for a spiritual battle with prayer. Joshua led the people of Israel for six days silently around the wall of Jericho as they prayed. Prayer was the weapon the people used in their battle for Jericho.

Although Madison’s freshman year was challenging, it was a faith-building year for her as well as the rest of our family. We were able to see how God used prayer to grow our faith and teach us to trust him so much more. We also learned the value of encouraging one another with God’s word. Since that time, God has taught me the importance of using prayer as a tool to comfort others and sharing words of encouragement with those in need. I hope that I might have more opportunities in the future.