“You can lift that Dave! You are ready to take the next level. Try it and you’ll see!!” My trainer Marc was exhorting me to deadlift that bar….And I did!
Forward Friday is our reminder that encouragement needs hope to fuel us, to propel us into the plans and purposes for our lives. It’s hard to move forward when we have little or no hope.
But this weekend, grab on to some hope as we talk about being inspired to move confidently, no matter the season of life we’re in. And as always, there’s Good News Medicine at the end.
Let’s Get Into This!
Some years ago, I had gone to a CrossFit gym and one aspect of being there was working on my deadlifts.
I’d see all these younger cross fitters lifting good amounts of weights but my shoulder and knee sports injuries had held me back.
Slowly but surely, I finally was able to dead lift 235lbs 3 reps! It was a big deal!!
But more injuries over time made that seem like a distant dream.. Until I started going to my present gym, Functional Fitness Montreal. Our trainer, Marc has vast experience and at one point, I said that I wanted to get back to deadlifting and had a goal I hadn’t achieved in 7 years.
We started working at it 3 times a week over a period of 6 weeks and then came a Saturday morning when it was time to see where I was at.
We beat our previous lift and deadlifted 240 lbs.
Needless to say I was ecstatic but there is probably no way that I would have done that had it not been for great coaching, technique and encouragement giving me hope that I could do it..
And I did!!
But thankfully, hope is more than just a gym moment and we should be thankful that it is a vast sea of opportunity if we allow it.
Did you know:
Hope is future focused and if we didn’t know it before, it is hope that gets us rolling out of bed on those mornings when we would rather pull those covers over our head..
Encouragement powers the drive to help us achieve goals, dream, pursuits and more.
Alexander Graham Bell who invented the telephone had this incredible quote that is worth internalizing:
He said: When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.
Sometimes, the biggest detractor for us is seeing the opening or opportunity and not believing that we can walk into that future.
We struggle many times with looking back on the near misses, the coulda, woulda, shoulda moments when we should be looking and focusing on the opening in front of us.
We live in times where most of the news we hear is negative.
Covid nonsense, wars, earthquakes, political unrest, financial instability, factions and more. The noise coming out of all of this lends itself to fear, worry , and mistrust.
And by the way, I rarely if ever watch the news. The news is a sure-fire way to find it easy to drop into a deep hole of despair.
While all of that is true, it is equally true that we can live differently in spite of what we see happening in our society.
How:
First off, The ability to allow encouragement to flow freely from our heart to our mouth is one we should pray for and cultivate in our lives.
Encouragement combined with hope is a powerful tool that has the ability to be a difference maker in the life of someone.
And it comes in so many ways: kindness actions, being supportive, words that affirm and bless.
Encouragement is a pathway to building and growing solid relational connections. It feels good to be appreciated and valued.
These types of actions bring strength to relationships that foster loyalty and trust.
And then there’s the ripple or pass it along effect.
It just seems to be the norm that when we experience encouragement combined with hope, we can’t but help to do the same for others.
Being intentional with our words and actions, expressing gratitude, sincere compliments and being in someone’s corner all work towards growing the hope factor in someone.
Some would say, is it that big a deal? I say yes and so much more.
Some would even say that a life would be transformed by the power of encouragement coupled with hope.
Now For Some Good News Medicine
There are great men and women of faith mentioned throughout the Bible, and one of them, Barnabas, was highly influential when it came to his mission, his care for people and his taking action for the sake of the Good News Of The Gospel!
Something about Barnabas Just stood out.
Acts 4:36 For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus.
The Apostles spoke well of Barnabas and they recognized in him the spiritual gift of encouragement. He became a respected figure in the life of the early church, as a prophet, teacher, and evangelist.
Here are but a few of Barnabas’ gifting's and something we all can aspire to.
Caring
The spiritual gift of encouragement starts with compassion, our concern for others.
Generous
We are first introduced to Barnabas through his act of generosity.
Kind
One of the features of Barnabas include kindness. We see it throughout his life and ministry and is essential with the gift of encouragement.
Warmth
Love is the foundation of faith, love for God and for one another. Because of God’s love for us, we can love because He showed us how.
A Good Friend
Friendship is a gift! Friendship can be such a God-given blessing. True friends are precious, supportive and highly valued.
Taking Time For Others
Barnabas saw that one of the churches needed help so he and another leader went to that city for over a year to help. Relationships that matter take time and investment.
Characteristics of Barnabas – The Spiritual Gift of Encouragement
The characteristics of Barnabas reveal to us that true encouragement is far more than just kind words. The spiritual gift of encouragement is when our words and our actions draw others closer to the purposes and plans God has for everyone.
The Things I Think: We’ve Got Homework
So here’s the deal: Over the next week, think of at least five people we can encourage.
It is the practice of encouragement to flow freely from our heart to our mouth can become a great habit but we must act on more than just a nice thought.
This scripture verse never falls far from my thinking.
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another. Hebrews 10:24
It's been said that, "Hope is the word which God has written on the brow of every man."
So I’m going to do that over the next week; will you join me? Maybe this can become a habit that will be hard to break!
We may just like it enough to not break it!
Encouragement is what we do!! Join me!!
Dave
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