Jesus, our Constant Encourager, is showing me how He is always… always… right there to for me. He said: “I will never leave you or forsake you,” and “Come unto Me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” But He’s showing me how easily I can be distracted from His encouraging voice by so many loud noises in this world… busyness… responsibilities… being driven...pleasure-seeking… pain-avoidance... and miss His steady flow of life-giving words to my heart… in silence… prayer… Scripture… fellowship… counsel… books… nature… and in letting Him manifest Himself as Constant Encourager through me to others! I have been finding myself reflexively offering to pray for and with people more and more in stores, restaurants, the golf course, my neighborhood and so on. I can’t tell you how encouraging it is to see the look of hope that begins to light up their weary eyes as I have the privilege of connecting their heart with His heart, even if it’s just a minute or so. It’s a seed planted…a hope stirred… and not just one heart touched, but at least three… the person’s, mine and the Lord’s. So, the other day Lindy and I were doing that in a Target store with the young woman at Customer Service. In responding she said: “Actually, I visited your church a few months back.” So we laughed and I apologized for not remembering her and we got to lift her heart up to Jesus in a brief prayer. Leaving, I said to Lindy: “Wow, honey, I didn’t recognize her at all. I am so glad I wasn’t a jerk about that little problem at the store. Maybe I need to assume everybody in this town knows me.” Five minutes later, we were in in Beds Baths and Beyond where we offered to pray with a sales clerk I’d never seen before. You won’t believe what he said: “Sure. Thanks. So, how are the tennis rackets I strung for you, Pastor Mark?” Stunned, I asked if we’d met before, and he said: “Yeah, a few months back at Gateway Tennis Center.” Jesus is so creative in confirming His prompts and encouraging words to us. I just can’t help but pass them on!
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 21:25:52 +0000