ARE YOU FEELING DISCOURAGED AND UNLOVED?
BIBLE PASSAGE:
My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love,
so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding,
in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ.
(Colossians 2:2)
MEDITATION:
If you asked people to name something that would lift their
spirits and give them peace, many would probably answer,
“Love and encouragement”
Paul knew that, and he did what he could to provide both to
the Colossians.
Paul knew it would lift their spirits, but he also believed that
when they were encouraged and united in love, their minds
would have a lot of unnecessary ‘junk’ removed, which would
result in their understanding the things of God in a new way.
Was he right?
Probably, because when we are encouraged and loved, our attitude
changes. We have a brighter outlook, and are not bogged down with
trying to find faults in others. In fact, we will be more apt to love and
encourage other people, because we know the effect it has had on us.
But why was Paul concerned about the Colossians having a better
understanding? Because he felt it would lead them to a greater
knowledge concerning the God-provided mystery of Jesus Christ.
This is important because it is difficult for some to get their mind
around the role of Jesus in God’s salvation plan.
Many think,
“There had to be another way”
or
“How could Jesus die for me?”
But Paul felt that love and encouragement would lead to a better
understanding. It would cause others to not only know more about
the mysteries of God, but it would also help them accept His plan
and surrender their lives to Him.
Paul gained a lot of wisdom after His transformation from persecuting
Christians, to becoming a child of the King. Paul changed from being a
“man’s man” and became a “God’s man”. And as a result, he understood
that love and encouragement were paired together for a reason.
Think about it for a moment:
If a person knows they are loved, then they will be encouraged.
This explains why so many are discouraged in our world today;
they do not feel loved.
More than likely people don’t feel loved, because others don’t understand
love and how to show it. In the wisdom God provided Paul, he tells us in
1st Corinthians what genuine love includes.
To paraphrase 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, Paul says,
“Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful;
it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on having
one’s own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not
delight in what is wrong, but rejoices in what is right. Love
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and
endures all things. Love never ends.”
When we review the list from Paul, we can understand why the divorce
rate is so high. Many couples think they love each other, but after they
are married, some discover they never really understood the meaning
of true love.
Satan seizes every opportunity to mislead us. and he does this with the
idea of love, by equating it to sex. He will take the emotional connection
God wants us to have, and turn it into something physical, which lacks
the type of relationship God wants married couples to have.
ACTION:
Do you feel discouraged? If so, then surrender your life to Jesus and
receive a better understanding of the reason for your existence. You
can have a new hope when you experience encouragement and love
from the Lord.
Some Christians cannot feel the full impact of the Lord’s love for them,
because they ‘hold back’ their efforts to find and use the spiritual gift
God gave them when they received His salvation. God wants our full
surrender to Him, and when are fully surrendered, we can open the
door to many new blessings He has for us.
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there
may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the
Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the
floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing
that there will not be room enough to store it.
(Malachi 3:10)
In Malachi, we can see the level of surrender God expects of us
when He tells us to bring the “whole tithe”. If we choose anything
less than the ‘whole tithe’, then we have not fully surrendered to
Him, have we?
Our actions are saying that we will bring some of our tithe to Him
and will be satisfied with some of His blessings. However, we don’t
have the level of faith to bring our ‘whole tithe’, which proves we
trust Him to provide for our needs, and confirms our belief that
when He says He has additional blessings awaiting those who fully
surrender, He means it.
When was the last time you encouraged someone else, or showed
them love? As a member of God’s family, we have a responsibility
to love and encourage others. That’s what Jesus did, so if we want
to be more like Him, then we need to develop His characteristics
and act as He did.
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your plan of salvation.
Thank You, Jesus for voluntarily being the important part
God’s salvation plan. When I think about what You did for
me, I feel loved. When I feel loved by You, I am encouraged
about life in general, and I can anticipate an eternity with
You at the end of my earthly journey. When I am discouraged
and feeling depressed, remind me that I am not as close to You
as I need to be. Convict me of the areas where I am refusing to
be obedient to Your commands, which are expected of those who
belong to You. As I become more obedient and grow closer to You,
teach me how to love and encourage others. Develop Your love
and forgiveness in my own heart, so I can love and encourage
unselfishly. I realize that replacing selfishness with selflessness
is not always easy, but I know that with You, I can do all things.”
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