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.

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