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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Encouragement (among believers) (11/08/07)
BUSTED
Lekan was wondering if things can get any worse but how wrong he was. For him it was one of those days you wonder if you woke up from the wrong side of the bed, first it was a delay that made him unable to deliver on a project which earned him a not so good telling off from his boss, then the car developed a problem and while he was at it he received a call that his son had an accident while playing at school. On his way to the hospital he was so discouraged and just needed encouragement.
Making a mental list of all the people he can call and vent his frustration he found that the names that came up are people who are either not close enough to bother with him and his troubles or are close but will only lecture him.
That support and back up he needs to receive from another in his time of distress will not be fort coming.
Sad as that maybe for him, truth be told when it comes to getting encouragement from others we are thoroughly busted. This is not because we are a bunch of uncaring Christians who are just consumed in their own affairs only, No not at all the snag is that we either do not understand what someone in distress needs at the time or we have failed to build trusting relationships among ourselves as believers.
The bible in Isaiah talked about having the tongue of the learned and knowing to speak the right word to the weary in season. For every distressed person there is a right word they need to hear. Sometimes they just want someone to validate them other times they may just need to talk it out and will just want you to sit and listen. Knowing what to do will require us putting ourselves in the shoes of the hurting and being sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
Most important though is our need to build loving relationships that build trust, if a distressed doesn’t trust us he will not come to us for encouragement. Small wonder Jesus left us with a commandment to love one another as He loved us.
Only in loving others and putting ourselves in their shoes will we become instruments in Gods hand’s to bring succor to the hurting.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Seema Bagai
11/15/07
You make good points in this piece.

Make sure to put in paragraph breaks to make it easier to read. Keep writing.
LaNaye Perkins
11/18/07
You made some great points in your piece. I would suggest finding a Challenge Buddy who could help a bit in sentence structure and punctuation. You have much potential - keep writing!