The Ministry of Encouragement

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Have you ever taken a moment to sit and ponder the importance of the ministry of encouragement? Note for a second the ministry of Barnabas in the Bible. His actual name was Joseph, or Joses, but the apostles called him Barnabas which meant "son of encouragement," or "son of consolation." What a great ministry to be called the "son of encouragement" by your very peers! Barnabas was by no means a poor man, but he still took the time to serve and encourage others, so much so that he was recognized as a son of encouragement. I look at this example and see a man who likely died to himself daily in order to serve others, pushing his own thoughts and feelings aside so that he could better encourage others in their daily walks and through even their times of trial and tribulation.

Have you ever tried to do that? Push yourself out of the way in order to serve others? Its not very easy to do. It's not easy to go day to day listening to people complain and wallow in self-pity and seek to encourage them every step of the way to stop wallowing and continue to strive forward for God. It's not easy when you have so many reasons that your flesh continually nags at you about, insisting that you have justified reason to wallow along with them, or even on your own for different reasons. It's not easy keeping that proverbial "stiff upper lip" when sometimes you just feel like the world is caving in around you, even though you KNOW just how blessed you are. It's difficult to see people who have it so much BETTER than you in so many areas of trial (money, family, etc) complain about how bad they think they have it when every inch of your flesh wants to scream at the top of your lungs for them to be thankful for what they have 'cause it could be a lot worse. It's even more difficult to remind yourself of that very same thing every day, all day. 

Yet, here I perceive a man who did just that. 

"Oh to have the strength to be strong for everyone all the time. To be able to carry the burdens for everyone," We may wistfully sigh.

Oh, but dear sisters and brethren in Christ, we are missing the point. It is not for us to bear. Yes, I am aware that Galatians 6:2 instructs us to carry each others burdens, but how far? How long before the yoke gets too heavy and collapses upon us? We are only meant to carry it as far as Jesus, and then leave it at His feet. Matthew 11 teaches us to come to Jesus when we are burdened and He will give us rest, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. 

THINK of the impact that this ONE man in Scripture had in the ministry, the impact that he had on the Church, the people of Christ, that he would bear the label of the son of encouragement. That alone should be an example of how important and needed this ministry is in the Body, especially today. 

Too many people (even I sometimes find myself guilty, ashamedly) find it too much of a burden to see other people fighting the tide in the midst of doubt, confusion, pain, grief, depression, exhaustion, and the like and give a kind word of encouragement. Too many of us, members of the Body, find it too time consuming to forget ourselves for a moment and just think of someone else and put ourselves in their shoes (compassion!) and speak to them as we would want people to speak to US in our times of doubt and trial. Then, some of us are just so self-consumed that we just simply are blinded by our own circumstances and can't see past the wall that we have built to keep our misery in.

Perhaps it is too much of a burden to bear, IF you are bearing it farther than you need to. If you do not take your burdens to the Lord, He cannot take your yoke from your shoulders and replace it with His light and easy one. Perhaps it's not that it's too much trouble to drop a line of encouragement rather than ignoring it or attempting to show ourselves in the same predicament (thereby wallowing with the person needing encouragement; definitely not helping matters, for then we are left with two who need encouragement, and so one and so on...), but rather it has become too much trouble to find time to bring our petitions to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, taking time from ourselves and our daily grind to drink the water from the well that will never run dry. 

Perhaps we are refusing the yoke of other people's burdens (thereby expelling the concept in Galatians 6) because we don't want to take the time to unload our yoke at Jesus' feet. I can empathize, too much stuff going on, kids bouncing off the walls all day seems like, never any "me time", you feel overwhelmed and just plain don't think about it. Doesn't make it right, though, or best, dear sisters.

Take the example of Martha and Mary. Martha was setting about her work as any good woman should, yet Mary took the time to sit at Jesus' feet and soak up His teaching. Martha got frustrated (as I probably would have in the situation!) as she was cooking and cleaning and serving our Lord and the other men, alone in the kitchen, likely feeling totally overwhelmed, til she hit that breaking point (we've all been there, I am certain) where she burst out practically yelling at the Lord, interrupting His teaching, insisting that she was doing it all by herself and insisting that He tell Mary to get in the kitchen and help her! Jesus' response was encouraging: He calmed her, and proceeded to say that Mary had chosen what was best. This was not diminishing from what Martha was doing to serve, but Mary had chosen what was best.

No amount of serving in this earthly kingdom could ever add up to time spent at the Lord's feet daily. You can wash your dishes, vacuum, educate your children, put three square meals on the table daily (as we should), but without time at Jesus' feet, it would all be meaningless in the end. And this routine that is SO easy to fall into is a root source for our own tribulations and discontentment. 

In 1855, Joseph M. Scriven wrote this hymn, and O how true it's words ring still today:

"What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

 Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

 Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.

 Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there."

Perhaps the problem is not that we're tired of hearing about other people's problems, perhaps it's that we aren't making time for the Lord as we ought to and are thereby burdened under a heavier yoke than we were intended to carry for so long.

Perhaps this is what is hindering the Ministry of Encouragement today. We've got so many distractions around us. Telephone, cable, internet, and cell technology just to name a few. While these things aren't bad in themselves, they can become a tool of Satan when they distract us from our daily walk with God, preventing us from nurturing our Spiritual walk/growth as we should. These distractions coupled with the lies and deceit of the world can make it SO easy to put God and Bible Study on the back burner (speaking from experience here) and the only place that that ever got anyone was farther from God and farther into self. 

Sisters, Brethren, I am here to call you up to the ministry of encouragement, to commission you and I both to be a Barnabas. Dying to self daily (and not just because we have to in order to care for little ones but rather because we want to in order to bring glory to the Lord), taking any free moment we can to sit at Jesus' feet by reading and studying His Word, praying, casting our cares upon the Lord (not only our own, but those of others as well), and allowing ourselves to bear the yoke of others in their time of need, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ as spoken of in Galatians 6:2. The ministry of encouragement is not something that anyone is naturally inclined to because every bit of it goes against everything the flesh stands for. It is a ministry that we must rise to and seek daily, in the Lord, to fulfill for Christ's glory alone. 

Will you rise along with me?