encouragement Archives

The Time of Singing

Do you ever need some convincing?
Sometimes, staying in bed seems like the best option.
Your head is in a fog, your eyelids are heavy curtains.
Nothing is appealing.
It’s been a lifeless, eternal winter.
The outside world had better just stay away.

But what if someone pushes through your dark cloud?
He exudes energy and life.
His eyes sparkle.
He is so excited to see you.
He’s been running to meet you.

He looks at you with such love.
He doesn’t scold you for staying in bed.
He’s not exasperated that you’re so weak.
He doesn’t guilt you into getting up.

Instead, He woos you.
His voice is soft with tenderness.

“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away,
for behold, the winter is past;
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
The fig tree ripens its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away.”

Suddenly you know, that because of Him,
It’s worth it.

You take His hand,
And He draws you out of despair,
into the warmth of a spring day.

This is what Jesus has done for me.
He has taken me out of darkness and into His light.
Winter is past!
The time of singing has come.
Because of His great salvation, I am His.
He wants to rejoice with me.
His desire is for me to know, understand, and enter fully into His love.
Right now I can enjoy this sweet relationship with Him.

Each morning He stirs my heart to come away with Him.
Walk in the garden with me.
Let’s enjoy time together.
To my shame, I often roll over and throw the covers over my head.
I’m wrapped up in my own concerns,
Too self-focused to share them with Him.
Life starts to get dismal.

But when I hear the voice of my Beloved,
I remember His excitement and desire for me.
His eyes brim with love.
Taking His outstretched hand,
I open His Word.
He’s singing to me.

Hope

This blog post digs deeper and gets into the meat of the word Hope, which is in the title of Persevere: Comfort and Hope for Dark Days. Check out the introductory post here, and the previous posts about the words persevere and comfort.

“Is she going to make it?”

“I hope so.”

How do you take that response?

Will she? Or Won’t she?

Is it said brightly, or grimly?

With a strong voice, or a shaky one?

Either way, I hope so seems like a cup of positivity, with a spoonful of doubt.

But that’s not how it’s always been.

You see, language changes.

Merriam Webster Dictionary gives a shout out to what the word hope used to mean:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hope

Archaic. That’s old.

It means the word is no longer is used as “trust”.

Instead, we use it to express a wish or desire that we know may not come to pass.

I hope so.

So how does the Bible talk about hope?

The word used is ἐλπίς (elpis).

From the Greek Strong’s Dictionary, it means to anticipate, usually with pleasure… expectation or confidence.

ἐλπίς is mentioned over 54 times in the New Testament.

You can find each one yourself by reading all the way through… or by downloading a study app like Olive Tree.

To really get a feel for what hope means in the Bible, you should find all the verses that mention hope.

Spend time reading and taking notes about how the word is used in each verse.

Here’s a place to start:

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:4

This is where it all comes together.

The Scripture is written for us.

As we persevere through our painful situations, we are encouraged by reading the Scriptures. The Scriptures have amazing accounts of men and women who cried out to God in their desperation… and He answered them.

When they were too weak to save themselves, He was mighty.

He came through for them.

That’s our expectation.

As we read the Scriptures and get to know the awesome character of God,

We can have confidence that He will also answer us.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13

Get a free sample of Persevere, an ebook devotional!

When you sign up for the free sample, you’ll also get KeyWords – a weekly devotional + writing update to your inbox!

start reading Persevere

Comfort

This blog post digs deeper and gets into the meat of the word Comfort, which is in the title of Persevere: Comfort and Hope for Dark Days. Check out the introductory post here and the previous post about the word persevere.

Comfort

Come here. I just want to hold you.
  
 I often hear those words when I am upset.
 Angry, distraught, frustrated, or sad.
 Whether my emotions are just beginning to show, 
 or they have already tumbled as a torrent,
 My husband calls me to his side:
  
 Come here. I just want to hold you.
  
 Outstretched arms and eyes of love.
 I crumple into his embrace.
  
 He doesn’t say anything at first.
 His heart soaks up my tears.
  
 When the time is right, he speaks.
 He helps me sort through my thoughts.
  
 Listening. 
 Asking questions. 
 Gently inviting me to share.
  
 When he has held me, and we have spoken,
 I am comforted.

This is a precious little picture that I get to see often.

Because as my husband comforts me,

My Heavenly Father is working through him.

God always works like that.

Not just through my husband,

He’s done it through other people, too.

Someone calls to ask about a matter she knows is bothering me.

A friend seeks me out to ask me how I’m doing.

They listen.

They ask questions.

They speak truth to my soul.

This is comfort.

This is encouragement.

Those two words go hand-in-hand.

They mean to give strength.

To hearten.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

This word comfort is translated from the Greek παρακαλέω (parakaleo) ¹

It means to call near, or call alongside.

Think of it!

God is calling you to His side.

He’s like my loving husband:

Come here. I just want to hold you.

He’s like my faithful friend:

Just thought I’d call to see how you were doing.

That’s heartening.

That’s strengthening.

To know you are loved and cared for.

You are comforted in all your affliction…

So that you can comfort those in any affliction.

So how do you do it?

How do you give comfort to someone?

Well… call them alongside you.

Listen.

Ask questions.

And then, speak truth.

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:4

The Scriptures were written to encourage.

That’s the same word as comfort.

Give strength.

Hearten.

Call alongside.

Soak in the Scriptures.

As you do, you’ll see all the times that God came through for each person.

And that will give you hope.

Get a free sample of Persevere, an ebook devotional!

When you sign up for the free sample, you’ll also get KeyWords – a weekly devotional + writing update to your inbox!

start reading Persevere

Life is Hard

“You know what this is?”

I raised my head from the table where I had dramatically flopped just moments before.

My dad rubbed his index finger against his thumb.

“This is the world’s smallest violin playing ‘My heart bleeds for you!’”

He chuckled at himself until I rolled my eyes and started laughing, too.

This scenario played out a lot in my teenage years.

When I bemoaned some insurmountable difficulty at school or work that threatened to disrupt my otherwise blissful life, I was met with sympathy and a good dose of reality.

“You know what? Life is hard.”

Usually, the situation worked itself out.

It wasn’t fun, but I got over it.

Along the way I grew to understand that life is not easy, but it does go on.

And giving up isn’t an option.

But as I became an adult, I found that problems got bigger.

More complex.

Heartaches intensified.

Dilemmas didn’t resolve.

Decisions were made, regretted, and made again.

I saw friends and family walk through dark days.

And I did, too.

As the years went by, I felt it even more strongly:

No, life isn’t easy.

And giving up isn’t an option.

So how do we get through difficult situations?

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:4

Perseverance.

Encouragement (Comfort).

Hope.

Throughout the next few blog posts, we’ll dig deeper and focus on these three key concepts from God’s word.