Encouraging through suffering

Giving to other through your pain

Imprisoned but free to encourage

The book of Acts tells how Paul was in prison and in spite of that they began to worship God. During their worship, the bible says all of the prison doors opened. At that moment the prison guard was going to fall on his sword rather than face the judgment for escaped prisoners. At that moment Paul stops the guard and lets him know that no one has left. The prison guard believes in Christ through this act of encouragement and then his family believes as well. It’s amazing how Paul, though imprisoned and suffering, was able to encourage someone in spite of his circumstance. We should not allow our circumstances to determine when or how we believe and treat others. We should be kingdom-minded no matter what is happening.

What is it to encourage?

In my own words, encouragement is simply to push someone or something in a specific direction. To encourage is to be intentional about a specific direction toward a specific result. Basically, we can’t encourage without trying or having a sense of direction. Encouraging is something we should always use to aid a fellow believer or anyone in pain or suffering. However, we should never chase this. Our encouragement should come from the bible and those God sends those to encourage us. It can become easy at times to seek encouragement. If we seek encouragement enough it often it turns in to affirmation. Which can easily turn in to a dependency on receiving that from others. Encouragement alone is neither good nor bad. It is what we allow it to be.

What is it to suffer?

Suffering in my words would be undergoing stress, hardship, or any sort of pain or discomfort. Naturally in this Christian life, Christ clearly tells us that we will suffer from following him. Which means we will undergo stress, hardship, pain, and discomfort. It’s so easy to relate this to something being wrong and at times that is correct. However, we must always remember this part is for us to become more like Christ, more dependent on Christ and more sharing of how Christ gets us through these times. Suffering can be self-inflicted or just a part of life, however, we must stand firm in what Romans 8:28 says. “All things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose. “

Why should I encourage during my suffering?

• To keep my relationships and life fruitful-There’s never a convenient time to encourage. Many of times when I am suffering, I will begin to love, care and give our of convenience. I begin to cherry pick when it’s a good opportunity to encourage others. I have come to find out we will always be suffering and going through something in our lives. With that said, if my relationships stop or halt because of my suffering, my relationships will never be as fruitful as they could be and neither will my life.
• It keeps you kingdom minded- When I am able to be an encouragement to someone during my suffering, it allows me to stay focused on doing God’s work and less about my situation. My suffering seems to lessen at times when I am working for God and not worrying about the potential relief from my suffering. Just as Jesus did as he asked God to remove the cup, he remembered his purpose and knew that the kingdom was worth the suffering he was enduring.
• God requires it of us- We should encourage while we are suffering quite simply because it is required of us. As Christ was suffering on the cross for crimes he did not comment, he still at that moment was able to encourage one of the thieves on the cross next to him. Yes, that’s Christ but its possible for us to do just as we examined what Paul did. Can you encourage as Christ did from your cross?

Why don’t I want encourage during my suffering?

• It would take focus away from me- When I am struggling or dealing with my issues, my first focus is for me to feel a sense of relief from what I feel. I don’t want to make someone else feel better when I don’t feel at my best. However, I want to invite you to change your perspective. What if you pouring into someone during your suffering encouraged you? Studies have shown that people that give and that are generous tend to be happier than those that don’t. Giving out of our suffering is the same as giving our of our “not enough”. Think of giving during your suffering as a tithe that God will honor and bless you for.

How can I encourage during my suffering?

• Focus on the kingdom- I have found the thing we focus on the most is what we will worship. With that said, it will steer our mood as well as our stewardship. If I become intentional about a focus on the kingdom during my suffering and find ways to see God’s hand in everything, I will understand not only is the suffering for a bigger purpose but its temporary. Our suffering has an expiration on it. We don’t know when that is but we must know that no two seasons of life will be the same. Through it all being kingdom focused will help us endure. Always remember you are involved in a work that is bigger than you.

• Keep the right people around you- One thing that I will say that is extremely important during seasons of suffering is to keep the right people around you. We must surround ourselves with others that are kingdom-minded. They will encourage us to encourage during our suffering. They will remind us of what’s a stake. Often we can be surrounded by people that have a selfish mindset. We keep them around because they are family or they have just always been in our circle. At times they can tell you to look out for you, or say “ you don’t have time to do that for them”. This kind of person and way of thinking will only intensify our suffering. Giving and encouraging is a way of release and takes the burden of our trouble off of us.
• Change perspective on suffering- In the book of James, he tells us to consider it pure joy when we fall into trials. I want to invite you to do the same. In order for us to endure and give during our suffering, we must change our perspective on what suffering means and who it is for. We tend to think that suffering is sign of a bad decisions or us going in the wrong direction. That is not always the case. If that were the case, Jesus would’ve have made a u-turn when he got to the cross. We must view suffering as something required to be a believer, something required to make us stronger, and something to give us a testimony that will help others.
• Stay in God’s word- A key factor in staying focused on the kingdom, keeping the right people around you and changing your perspective is to stay in the word of God. No matter how much time we have on any given day, we must make time for what God says. We must learn Him, know Him and live out what His word says. A lot of us want the blessings of God, the endurance He promises as well as the peace but our prayer life’s and our study lives our lacking. Our relationship with God is the core and anchor that reminds us and protects us as we give during our suffering. He is our hope.