Read

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Reflect

I am so thankful that God is a God of encouragement! I can’t imagine life without the truth that he loves me, believes in me and equips me for his great purpose. As parents, it’s so important to remember that our Father God loves and believes in us! He trusts us to shepherd our children, to provide for them, to train and equip them and to guide them towards him.

One of my favourite things to do is to meet my friends for coffee and share real life together. I love the deep talk, the real talk, the talk that stirs the heart. Don’t get me wrong, I value the light-hearted fun conversations too – I just gain so much from these deeper conversations with my friends. Sharing how I feel and verbally processing with friends I trust, far outweighs the words I utter to myself when I’m alone after a long day.

There are so many opportunities for us to compare ourselves to those around us. If I’m honest, in the middle of my more insecure moments, I can spend way too much time internally criticising myself and speaking words of negativity into my own mind. Have you ever noticed how sometimes everyone else seems to be getting it all right in your mind, whereas you seem to be messing up?

It’s just one perspective … but it’s so powerful.

That’s why today’s verse means so much. It’s just a simple one, which makes it super easy to remember.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11.

It’s a truth I’m doing my best to learn to live by. I find it challenging at times, particularly when somebody has hurt me, or when I have said something that I’m not proud of. But that’s where scripture is most valuable – when it encourages and convicts, it builds up and strengthens us.

Let’s be known for building up, strengthening and encouraging one another, rather than competing against and comparing ourselves with one another.

Who could you open up to today and share some of your real thoughts and feelings? (even those insecure ones!)

Is there a friend you could encourage and speak words of life into in this season?

What encouraging words can you speak that will build up, strengthen and encourage your children?

Now for some powerful, biblical encouragement that will speak life into all of us together. Ephesians 3:20 packs a punch when it comes to empowering and enabling us to dream big and believe in who God has made us to be.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

What do we know? We know that it is God who is able. We know he can do immeasurably more than all we can ask OR imagine (that leaves nothing out!) but here’s the power punch … according to his power that is at work, within US!

I never get tired of this verse. It makes me realise how valuable and special we are to God – that he would choose to use us, to place his power within us, to do more than we could ask or imagine, through him.

Now what could that look like at home in our families?

He’s able to empower us to speak life into those around us, to share his love with our neighbours and to pour out his love on our family, even when we’re tired and worn out. How? Through his unwavering, unimaginable, unending power at work in us.

He does the work through us. He gives us what we need in each and every season. Earlier in this devotional series we read this truth in 2 Corinthians 9:8, “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all you need, you will abound in every good work.”

I pray that you would feel encouraged today, deep within your own heart, but also encouraged to be a blessing to those around you. Let’s go and build up and strengthen our family and friends today with the word of God within us.

Remember

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Ephesians 3:20

Family idea

Create a family dream board. Talk about the things your family are praying and believing for and then fill the board with these things. You could use words, scriptures, drawings or even cut out pictures and photographs and stick them to the board.  Put it up somewhere visible in the house and use Ephesians 3:20 as the foundation of your prayer. This helps children to see that it’s good to dream about things that are much bigger than they are. It also helps us to talk about ‘faith’ and how that means believing in and trusting that God has big plans for our lives.