Our society is running on fumes emotionally, spiritually, and relationally. This present reality makes fuel of the utmost importance — not just in quantity, but also quality.
Great fuel will help you go further, faster! The same is true of our souls. Paul said, “What a man sows, he will also reap.” In other words, what we “put in” directly affects what comes out.
My son loves sports. And, I’ve watched as Dawson has grown; he excels the most when he is encouraged. Strong criticism stalls his engine, but words of affirmation accelerate his passion.
His father is very similar! For years, I got up in the morning to prove people wrong; it’s what “fueled” me. But that “bad fuel” took its toll on my engine; eventually, it stalled out. Then came the epiphany. Sitting in the pits of my pity party — watching people race by — it was not the critics that helped me re-fire my engine. It was the encouragers!
I have since learned that encouragement is like high-octane fuel! The emails, texts, phone calls, or mentions in status updates from positively impacted lives are the people you get up for every morning. They are the reason you don’t quit!
Encouragement = The action of giving someone support or confidence.
Who do you know that needs some encouragement? Stranded on the side of life’s highway, they’ve run out of gas, or their engine is stalled from too many miles of running on bad fuel. Go pour in the fuel of encouragement and watch them take off again!
‘Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.’ (1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV)
And, if by some chance, it is you stalled out, and you just saw this little billboard of a blog… Know that it is not impossible to encourage yourself! You may have to “take a walk” to do it, but David exemplified that when everyone else has left you, God is never nearer.
‘And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him because the soul of all the people was grieved… but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.’ (1 Sam 30:6 KJV)