Encourage Yourself In The Lord

1). Praise Him when all hell breaks loose

1 Samuel 30 (amp)
NOW WHEN David and his men came home to Ziklag [winding- material (as wire) wound or coiled about an object.] on the third day, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid on the South (the Negeb) and on Ziklag, and had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire,
2 And had taken the women and all who were there, both great and small, captive. They killed no one, but carried them off and went on their way.
3 So David and his men came to the town, and behold, it was burned, and their wives and sons and daughters were taken captive.
4 Then David and the men with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep.
5 David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail, the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.
6 David was greatly distressed, for the men spoke of stoning him because the souls of them all were bitterly grieved, each man for his sons and daughters. But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
7 David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray you, bring me the ephod. And Abiathar brought him the ephod.
8 And David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them? The Lord answered him, Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.

David knew a thing or two about praise. In Psalm 34 he writes:
I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall
make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.

2). Know that God is not mad at you
1 Thessalonians 5
9 For God has not appointed us to [incur His] wrath [He did not select us to condemn us], but [that we might] obtain [His] salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)
10 Who died for us so that whether we are still alive or are dead [at Christ’s appearing], we might live together with Him and share His life.
11 Therefore encourage (admonish, exhort) one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another, just as you are doing.

Romans 8 There is therefore now no condemnation


3). Stay in Fellowship-we need one another!
Hebrews 10 (amp)
23 So let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it, for He Who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word.
24 And let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up (stimulate and incite) to love and helpful deeds and noble activities,
25 Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching.

(Message)
So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.

4). Recognize that God cannot lie

Hebrews 6 (amp)
13 For when God made [His] promise to Abraham, He swore by Himself, since He had no one greater by whom to swear,
14 Saying, Blessing I certainly will bless you and multiplying I will multiply you. [Gen. 22:16, 17.]
15 And so it was that he [Abraham], having waited long and endured patiently, realized and obtained [in the birth of Isaac as a pledge of what was to come] what God had promised him.
16 Men indeed swear by a greater [than themselves], and with them in all disputes the oath taken for confirmation is final [ending strife].
17 Accordingly God also, in His desire to show more convincingly and beyond doubt to those who were to inherit the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose and plan, intervened (mediated) with an oath.
18 This was so that, by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God ever to prove false or deceive us, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge might have mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope appointed for us and set before [us].
19 [Now] we have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whoever steps out upon it—a hope] that reaches farther and enters into [the very certainty of the Presence] within the veil,

The hope that God cannot lie anchors our soul and persuades us that God will honor his Word.

Hebrews 6 (message)
When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it to the hilt, putting his own reputation on the line. He said, “I promise that I’ll bless you with everything I have—bless and bless and bless!” Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they’ll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable.
We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.

5). Keep the commandment of love (Philippians 2 in NLT)
2 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

If you want encouragement from God and desire comfort from His love you must consider the interests and well-being of others before yourself.

To Know Him

So many of us want the presence of God. We want God to manifest Himself. We sing songs about it. They’re all good. But we have a part to play. Are you getting intimate with the Lord God of heaven and earth? Are you glorifying Him by spending time with Him. They only way that you will get to know someone is by spending time with the person. God is waiting on you.

Exodus Chapter 3 (NKJ)
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”
4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”

God is waiting for you to turn aside from everything that will distract and look to Him. The Lord did not speak to Moses until Moses gave Him his attention. If you’re wanting God to speak to you, you’re going to have to turn to Him first. It’s not going to come by watching “Lost” or “Grey’s Anatomy.” It’s not going to happen by reading Harlequin romance novels. It’s not going to happen by watching ESPN four hours a day. He wants you to know Him. Will you accept the challenge? Here are some concrete steps to help you enter into the “Secret Place of the Most High.”

Decision: You know you need to read your Bible but you sometimes you don’t want to. But you have made a decision. You are going to fellowship with God come hell or high water and sometimes it’s a little of both. But it all starts with a decision. Decisions determine whether you succeed in life.

Determination: Next comes determination. If you’re not going to follow through and stick with your decision, it means nothing. You will encounter resistance, You will face obstacles. You will experience distractions. Determination keeps you in the game for the long haul.

Duty: This means you’ve marked a time and place on your calendar or PDA and you are faithful to keep your appointment with God. There’s other places you’d rather be sometimes but at least you keep your appointment. It’s ok to meet with God out of duty but don’t stay at this level.

Desire: This a critical leap forward. When desire takes the place of duty, your priorities become reassessed. Things that seemed important to you before no longer seem like such a big deal. You realize that you need to go from the outer court to the inner court and that need is gradually becoming a want.

Devotion: This is the point at which the need for His presence becomes a want for his presence. You are totally devoted to Him, to His Word, to His people. You can still enjoy watching ESPN or HGTV. You’d still accept those free tickets to see “Mama Mia” but you know who your heart is really devoted to and can’t wait to meet with Him again.

Delight: When devotion turns to delight you are having so much fun with God, there’s nothing you’d rather too. It can be a little scary sometimes because you have no desire for tv, no desire to watch movies, no desire for “Mama Mia.” The world holds no attraction for you whatsoever. The benefits of knowing God, fellowshipping with Him, spending time in His presence are so awesome, everything pales in comparison.

1 John 5
18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps  himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.
19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.