The necessity - of encouraging one another Is much needed. We have been joined together as the Body of Christ; and for this Body to function properly, we must all be encouraged to draw closer to God - to trust Him more and love Him with all our heart. One of the ways we encourage, is in sharing with one another how God's mighty hand has worked in our life. We have so much to be thankful for, but sadly we often simply forget.
In the book of 1 Samuel, we read of young David and the Philistine "Giant" named Goliath. Goliath was much larger than other people of his day; "he was over nine feet tall" (1 Samuel 17:4). For forty days he tormented the Israelites by challenging them to a battle, but no one would accept his challenge.
David was not a soldier, but his father sent him to the Israelite camp to deliver bread to his older brothers. When David heard the challenge by Goliath, he told King Saul; "Your servant will go and fight him" (1 Samuel 17:32).
Though David had never been in battle, he had witnessed the power of God. As a shepherd, David defended the flock when a lion and a bear had come to carry away his sheep. David rescued the sheep by killing the lion and the bear. By witnessing God's hand in these past battles, David gained the necessary confidence to go into battle against Goliath.
1 Samuel 17:36-37 "Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear - this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." David under stood about God's goodness and had a data base of seeing God work in his life and showing His kindness to him.
As we find ourselves battling our own Goliaths, we must remember how God has defended us in the past; and as a Family, we must share past victories with one another. God is faithful, and we need to remind one another of this simple truth. Our "Giant" circumstances may seem impossible to resolve, but the God who stood at our side during past battles (and stood at the side of our Brothers and Sisters) is the same God who stands with us today: "God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid'" (Hebrews 13:5-6).
God wants to draw us near and walk with us through each
and every battle. This means we must trust He's working all things together for
good...even when we can't see the good or understand His timing. Let's be
encouraged by God's victories in our past and look for opportunities to share
these victories as an encouragement to others. As each of us face our Goliaths
today, let's go out with a thankful and trusting heart and always remember the
defeated lions and bears.
Remember the definition of Faith: living like the Bible is true even when we don't feel like it is true. The reason we can know it is true is God said it is true; and if God said it is true, it is true.
We live by faith not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7
The righteous will live by faith. Galations 3:11b
With out faith it is impossible to please God. Hebrews 11:6a
Anything not done in faith is sin. Romans 14:23b
We live and walk by faith, we stay married by faith.