Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 ( NIV)
The world has seen some really extraordinary challenges these last few years. Even in light of the past centuries of global trials of all kinds, what we’ve faced more recently does seem unprecedented. More than ever, I’ve had to rely on eternal truth to overcome the threat of discouragement. As a born encourager, I’ve taken the mandate in this verse seriously when it comes to sharing my own overcoming with others. The troubling times are also a ripe field for the gospel message, the greatest encouragement ever.
In this verse, Paul is actually urging the Thessalonian church to encourage one another in the last days, to persevere through the challenging times before Jesus’s return and to maintain the eternal perspective that unbelievers lack. While the whirling threats of Armageddon have seemed more real lately, the fact is that all believers through history have believed they live in the imminence of Christ’s return.
I read the crazy headlines with keener interest these days. My Christian friends and I sometimes wonder if Jesus will show up tomorrow after lunch. Wouldn’t that be nice? Whatever the future holds in my own little universe or in the world at large, I want to encourage others with the promise of eternity and Jesus’s triumphal return.
FAITH STEP: Think of someone who is grappling with fear about the future or facing an imminent threat of any kind and write them a note of encouragement, citing a Scripture passage to support your message.
