Seeking to Encourage

Written by Sarah Ann E.

“Be an encouragement.”  Sounds like something my mom would say!  We know that we must encourage others, but where do we start?  I know sometimes I am overwhelmed with all the ways that I could be an encouragement and get discouraged not knowing how or where to start.  I attend a fairly large church, and at times I am overwhelmed that there are so many ladies that I could seek to encourage and I don’t know where to start.  To my shame, I often curl up in my little “shy” shell and do not talk to anyone.  Oh, that is so easy to do.  For me, it is so much easier to encourage through writing.  In my estimation, I do a horrible job at even attempting to encourage in person.  So, as I write this article to you, I am stepping on my toes just as hard or more so than yours.  Let’s jump into this together!

We have many ladies who are around us each week that we can be an encouragement to in person.  When you attend church, look around for a lady who is sitting there by herself.  Go up and chat with her, just talking to her means more than you know.  One easy way to turn the conversation to encouragement is by asking her, “How can I pray for you this week?”  But remember, don’t just ask her that and forget her prayer requests.  Take those requests before the Lord often that week and then ask her the next time you see her how that week went and inquire concerning those matters you were praying.  If this is a single lady, I would tell her about “Ladies In Waiting” and give her an invitation card or you can just give her our website address.  Our website has many articles that would encourage her. 

Our friends are also very important to continually encourage.  Don’t just tell them about your life and share your woes with them.  Give them words of encouragement whenever you can.  If they are struggling with something, point them to Christ and share verses that have been an encouragement to you in hard times.  Remind them of the character of God, such as His great love, faithfulness, control, especially when they are doubting.  Pray fervently for them.  Don’t just offer quick “Lord help so-in-so with such–and-such.  Amen.”  Also, be a listening ear for them.  Sometimes you can encourage them most by just listening to them and not really saying much at all.  I know sometimes I need a listening ear, especially when I am having a hard time about something and want someone just to understand (or try to!!!) and also pray for me in the matter.  Those kinds of friends are the ones I am the closest to.  So, try to be that kind of a friend to other ladies.  With my closer friends, I try to use many means to be an encouragement to them—face to face contact, e-mailing, instant messaging, and phone.  Then there are also e-cards!  Sometimes it’s special just to send (and receive!) an e-card or note, just saying how much that person means to you!  It is always an encouragement to hear that you have encouraged your friend!  Then, think of things that would be an encouragement to you, and do it to your friends.  Do unto others, as you would have them do to you!

Then, there are ladies who you do not get to see very often (or never will see) and you are able to encourage them through writing letters.  Take great advantage of this, ladies!  I have the GREAT privilege of getting to know “my LIW ladies”!!!  Yes, I claim you!!!  ;-)  So many of you live around the world and I will never meet you, yet I can still be an encouragement you!  That is a great honor and I do not take it lightly.  I thank my Lord for each and every one of you.  You too can have “pen pals,” or now days “e-pals” if you want to say!!!  These normally would be ladies who live a distance from you that you have never met.  If you don’t have a friend like that whom you correspond with and encourage but you would like to, please e-mail me and I will see if there is another LIW member to whom you could write!!! 

Encouraging others can be medicine to us too.  It is a great blessing to be used of the Lord to put a smile on someone’s face or to lift them up and point them to Christ!  I am always awed when someone mentions how I was a great encouragement to them.  I do not pat myself on the back and think of how good I am.  I turn to my Lord and thank Him for using me to be that blessing.  In and of myself I cannot be encouraging, but with my Lord working through me, I am able to be that tool of His to encourage another along the way! 

So, most importantly, to be an encourager we must be a workable tool in the great Encourager’s hand.  We must ourselves be sitting at our Lord’s feet each day, gleaning encouragement from Him so we can go share that with others.  Are you striving and fighting to have your time each day with your Lord?  I pray that you are.  If not, then beg the Lord to help you fight for that time.

Let us seek to be encouraged each day by our dear Lord, and then be able to encourage the dear ladies around us! 

Visitors on page since May 21, 2009

This page was last modified on Thursday, September 02, 2010