Encouraging Strangers
By dishing out likes, the Like Ninja is one of the only people I know of who uses the anonymity of the Internet to encourage and build up others. I imagine his likes are the equivalent of smiling at a stranger.
In the classic allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress, the main character, Christian, tumbles into the miry bog, the “slough of despond,” and struggles to get free. But the heavy burden on his back pulls him in deeper, and he begins to sink.
This image pictures what it feels like when we’re sinking in difficult circumstances—when our debts outweigh our income, when past hurts won’t heal, when discontentment marks our relationships, and when the light of heaven seems distant and dim. Discouragement, despondency, pain, suffering—these miry pits along life’s journey can pull us down into our own “slough of despond.”
Christian’s rescue came by the hand of a fellow traveller named Help...and the same is true for you today. Use these resources to find encouragement for your own life...or to minister help to those you find along life’s journey.
By dishing out likes, the Like Ninja is one of the only people I know of who uses the anonymity of the Internet to encourage and build up others. I imagine his likes are the equivalent of smiling at a stranger.
This inductive study is designed to create a better understanding of finding and giving encouragement. For the next 30 days read the questions and allow them to spark deeper personal reflection and life change.
You can make a difference. And because you can...you must. Count on the Lord to honour and multiply your best efforts, even though they may seem small. Last time I checked, He was still rewarding faithfulness.
Choose some psalms to include in your personal reading time this summer. To help make them stick, don’t try to digest too great a meal in one sitting. Consider these songs as rich food to be savoured slowly.
You may not have thought about it before, but Christians have a lot more in common with soldiers than we might think.
Hearing Paul and Barnabas recount story after story of God’s love, grace, deliverance, and guidance re-centred and reassured the band of believers.
Milestone. Originally, the word referred to a stone used as a mile marker. But it can also refer to a significant point in development—a turning point in life.
You are among our friends who’ve made us a braided cord, not easily broken…partners who’ve enabled us to proclaim the Good News to a needy world.
In times of great stress we need a solid foundation to fall back upon. It is in those moments of panic and fear our training kicks in and we realize even though we feel lost and alone, it's not truth. God is with us.
Instead he suggests asking ourselves a question when something negative happens: What does this experience make possible?