Encourage One Another

Hebrews 3:13
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

We all need encouragement. No matter what the situation is, no matter what it is we seek to do or accomplish, encouragement goes a long way in helping us to endure and keep on. It is so easy to lose heart and just give up when there is no encouragement. We begin to feel as though no one is paying attention, and no one cares. The same holds true in our Christian walk - we need to have people in our life that encourage us, that keep us going forward, that remind us that the walk is possible, and that it is worth it.

I wonder how many Christians are out there thinking they can do this on their own. I’ve been there, and while it may work for a while, it’s too easy to fall away and just start going with the flow of the rest of the world. The Christian walk is not for the faint of heart. As Paul says, we need encouragement so that we don’t find ourselves hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We need to have those people in our lives that will challenge us, keep us accountable (as difficult as that can be), give us a pat on the back when we do well, and help us get back on track when we fall. We cannot do this alone - we were not meant to. God designed us to be in community for a reason.

These relationships, however, are not to be one-way. We need to be encouraging those around us, helping them to press on toward the prize, and showing them, by example, that the Christian walk is not only possible, it is joyful, awesome, fun, and worth it. They need us, just like we need them.

My point is this: each and every one of us, as Christians, need to be in a community of believers where we are finding encouragement, and are able to encourage. Whether in a church, or small group, or Bible study, we need to be in the Word, and we need to have those around us who are also in the Word. Like I said before, we can’t do this alone, so let’s stop trying.