A Lesson from Life

Yesterday was a day in which God taught me a wonderful lesson concerning encouragement.  Monday, March 5th was my birthday and I was overwhelmed with the number of birthday wishes that I received via phone calls, cards, text messages, emails, messages on Facebook and even personal visits (all of the various means of communication can be a blessing).  These wishes came from people of all ages as well as people from various stages of my life.  I heard from my parents (which is a blessing for anyone my age, not that I am old man). I heard from friends from High School. I heard from former members of congregations that we have served through the years.  I heard from individuals that have attended revival services over the past few years of my journey with Christ.  I heard from members of the present congregation that we are serving and last but not least I heard from my immediate family that mean so much to me and have assisted me on my journey through life.  I realize that I have gone into great detail in the list that I have provided but I truly believe that there is a valuable lesson that God desires to teach each of us.

We live in a world in which we feel overwhelmed by all of the "stuff'" that we face on a daily basis.  There are times in which we tend to forget those people who hold us dear to their hearts.  There are times that we tend to forget those family and friends who mean so much to us and our journey through life.  We don't mean to fall into the trap of taking for granted those "special" people who have made such a difference in our lives.  The attitudes of the culture seem to help us identify what we don't have in such a way that we fail to identify what we do have in our lives.  Is it possible that we need to stop talking about those things that we don't have and appreciate those people that God has placed in our lives?  A line from an old Southern Gospel song came into my mind yesterday as I reflected on the birthday wishes that I had received.  The words from the song declares, "I am one blessed man..."  I can offer a strong and passionate AMEN to that declaration today.  I have always known that God has blessed me but there are those moments in which God drives home that reminder to each of us.  God uses gestures of kindness, words of encouragement, and even the warm embrace from your family or friends to share HIS LOVE with us.  Take a moment today and allow God to encourage you.  That revelation may come from an unlikely source or it may come from someone that you encounter on a daily basis.  It does not matter what vehicle that God may use to speak to you but remember to remain open to His presence and allow Him to speak strength, hope, joy, and life into your hearts.  You may be surprised to see what will unfold in your life today as you look for signs of encouragement from God.