Encouragement

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, "May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say" (NLT). I have the wonderful privilege of traveling in various parts of this nation in which I am given the awesome responsibility and opportunity to minister to people of different backgrounds and different needs. I encounter people of various ethnic backgrounds, educational backgrounds, economic backgrounds, as well as spiritual backgrounds. But there is one thing that I notice is common among all of the people; we are living in the time in which many of us are in need of encouragement. I am not referring to some type of "emotional lift"; no, I am referring to a deep desire to sense the presence of God in a supernatural manner that will strengthen my soul in the midst of adversity. These are truly times of adversity; but in the midst of the adversity we can sense the promise that the Spirit shares through the words of Paul in our scripture verse today. God is a a God of comfort and hope. The enemy wants us living in a state of hopelessness and despair. The enemy of our soul does not want us to believe that God promises to bring strength and comfort to us on our journey through life. Life is not always easy; we do face those moments in which our faith will either "fold up or hold up." We do face those moments in which we must choose to either trust God with the circumstances that we are facing or allow the enemy to overwhelm us with feelings of fear and defeat. God does not give to us the spirit of fear (timidity) according to the Word of God. Some of you are facing challenging circumstances today; allow the God of comfort and hope to strengthen you through His promises. It is such a blessing to look into the face of someone who has come forward for prayer and they realize that God is truly interested in helping them at their point of need. It is as though a light has been turned on in their heart and they are correct. The True Light from heaven has revealed Himself to them in the midst of their difficulty. I am blessed to see that reaction in each of the services in which I am able to participate. Oh, what a mighty God we serve! He truly desires to assist you today; He is not fighting against you, He is fighting for you. God desires for you to succeed and live a successful Christian life. Be encouraged today, God loves you and He is interested in your life and all that you are facing.