Be encouraged and be an encourager!

Your monday

morning meditation

By rev. dr. j. Emmette weir

One of the most amazing things about life is the tendency to become discouraged or to fall into a 'slough of despondency' after a great moment of triumph and rejoicing.

Sometime known as 'the blues,' these moments of discouragement, coming so soon after moments of triumph, while hard to explain are well-known to all of us, and at some time or the other in life, we have to deal with them. Don't you sometimes hear people complain about 'the post-Christmas blues?'

Take for instance the prophet Elijah. After a great triumph at Mount Carmel in which he effectively stopped the advance of the worship of the pagan god Baal, he descended into a mood of great discouragement after queen Jezebel threatened his life.

Yes the great Prophet fled to Beersheba where he experienced 'the blues' under a juniper tree and then to Mt. Horeb where he hid in a cave.

When the Lord spoke to him, he responded in a mood of dejection declaring that the people had deserted the worship of the Lord, the one true God and that he alone was left to continue to champion God's cause. What did the Lord do?

Well, first of all he did not join Elijah in a 'pity party.'He did not encourage the Prophet to continue 'having the blues.' Rather he challenged him with the question, "what doest thou here Elijah?" What was the Lord doing? He was calling upon the prophet to consider why he should be hiding in a cave; why he as a man of God was so scared of a pagan queen that he had to flee far away to a cave.

Then the Lord gave him a task, advising the prophet to anoint kings of the nations of Syria and Israel and to anoint Elisha as his successor. God therefore, expressed confidence in the prophet.

There is nothing more encouraging to a person who is downhearted than to be given a task to do.

Thirdly, God assured Elijah that he was not alone; that there were many others who had not succumbed to the worship of Baal. Yes the Lord assured the prophet:

"Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." (I Kings 19:18, AV.)

Thus encouraged, Elijah left that cave of hiding and continued his powerful ministry, anointing the two kings and anointing Elisha as his successor. What Elijah needed most in the cave then was not sympathy nor pity; but a word of encouragement and that is exactly what God provided for him. No wonder he came to be revered as "the greatest of the prophets," and even appeared with Moses to Jesus on "the Mount of Trans-figuration."

There is every reason to believe that this experience of Elijah is most relevant to us today. You see then, like Elijah at Mount Horeb, many people are very discouraged.

Yes there are those who have lost their jobs in these hard economic times and are discouraged as they struggle to make ends meet. There are those who are depressed because they have lost their homes or are facing the threat of foreclosure.

Others are depressed be-cause of sickness or the passing of loved ones. And even more tragically, we have seen an increase in the rate of suicide as some have become so overwhelmed with their problems that they simply don't know where to turn and take extreme measures in trying to escape from them.

As we read the manner in which God dealt with Elijah, we come to realize that there is no need, even in times of deepest discouragement, to remain in such a state of depression.

Rather, instead of giving in to despair, we need like Elijah to turn instead to God, to seek His guidance and to be comforted and encouraged to carry on. We need to remember that we are not alone; that many others are also going through 'trying times' and by trusting in the Lord they are overcoming them. Let us bear in mind that countless others throughout the ages like Elijah, in the moments of deepest despair have found the way to renewal as they trusted in the Lord.

I recall that some years ago, the Methodist Church in England was facing many challenges as its membership was gradually declining. Many of its members and even ministers were discouraged by the grim statistics and other challenges facing the Church.

Then came along a very powerful, spirit-filled minister of the Gospel named Gordon Rupp. In the midst of the gloom and doom, he expressed great confidence and hope as he delivered his stirring messages to the Churches in his travels throughout the United Kingdom.

One of the leading Church journals had as it headline, "Put him down as an encourager! He is an encourager!" As a result of his inspiring messages, a new atmosphere of optimism prevailed and this certainly proved very beneficial to the Church.

Yes, we do need encouragers in the world today, in the Church as well as in the world of industry, commerce, banking and tourism. Our world is desperately in need of encouragers.

Let us then, as we continue our spiritual sojourn through this Holy Lenten Season, be encouraged as we serve the Lord. Let us too, being encouraged by trusting in Him, also prove to be His instruments used to encourage others. Yes, be encouraged and as a Christian be an encourager.

Thought for the day:

"If you ever feel blue,

Find something to do

For somebody else,

who is bluer than you!"

© 2009 The Freeport News