Skip to main content

Consider This: A River of Blessing

               Sara and I like a TV show called “World’s Most Scenic River Journeys”.  Each show follows the course of a river from its source to its terminus, showing how the river benefits people and nature along the way.

Today, I want to share a prayer from scripture that follows the same “source to benefits” pattern.

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word” (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).

The source of every good thing is “Our Lord Jesus himself and God our Father”.  This may seem obvious, but we act otherwise.  When trouble comes, we panic because we cannot fix the problem.  We act as though we are the source of our own answers and power.  This can only leave us discouraged.  We must remember who is really in charge.

When we get the source right, then we receive “eternal encouragement… hope… and strength”.  The very things we were searching for are not found in us; they are gifts from God.  Those who are hopeful, encouraging, and strong when everyone else is fearful make all the difference in the world.  We need more people who believe that nothing is impossible when God is involved (Genesis 18:14).  That is the essence of faith.

Lastly, we are to become conduits, or deliverers of this hope and encouragement to others.  No one has seen God, but they can see his Spirit living in you (1 John 4:11-12).  How do we do this?  Do we need a big stage?  Do we need to start a rally or a movement of some sort?  Does this happen by leaving all that we know and moving to a foreign place?  No, necessarily!  Rather, this happens through “Every good deed and word”.  In other words, we spread God’s strength, hope and encouragement in ordinary acts done faithfully and well.  Life changes in small, mostly unseen acts of faithfulness.

Unfortunately, sometimes, our river becomes polluted.  We fill it up with all sorts of junk and debris and lose the blessings that ought to flow to us.

Maybe it is time for you to rediscover the source. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Consider This: What is so Great About Grace?

If you were to drive by our house, you would see that Sara loves plants.  Our yard is full of flowers, and Sara lovingly tends every one of them. Which is why I was so afraid when she left town and put me in charge of keeping things alive. She must have been a little concerned, too, because she sent me two videos with specific instructions on how to water, when to water, and what to do.  Honestly, those first two videos helped, but the third one she sent was the one I liked most.  In that one, she said, “Please do your best. I want the yard to look good for the family reunion in two weeks.  However, if something dies, we will dig it out and pretend that it never existed!” That is what grace looks like!  Try your best, do what you can, but if it goes wrong, it will be ok. Sometimes we talk as though grace and effort are opposites.  That is not true.  They are partners. In one place, scripture asks, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone c...
Post a Comment
Read more

New Article: Thanksgiving in Real Time

                    Thanksgiving weekend means that many of us will spend time together with family and friends, eat a lot of food and think about what we are thankful for in our lives.   Unfortunately, after that, most will go back to their normal routines and leave thankfulness behind.                   What would happen if thanksgiving were part of our everyday life, rather than something we focused on a few times per year?   Where would we even start?                 According to Philippians 1:18-26, the apostle Paul remained joyful and thankful, even while imprisoned for his faith, by holding on to three important practic...
Post a Comment
Read more

Process Produces Progress (1 Peter)

 Dreams are good. Plans and expectations are fine. However, only by focusing on the process do we find progress.   1 Peter 1:13 tells us what to do to get to where we want to go (point 3 is my favourite!)   https://youtu.be/qyGwN_OOmCQ  
Post a Comment
Read more