Healthy Relationships - Encourage (Daily Devotional)

Hello everyone, it's great to meditate on God's word together with each one of you. And today we are talking about healthy relationships. One of the important ways of strengthening a relationship is to encourage people. In Hebrews chapter 3 verse 13, the writer talking about strengthening the fellowship or the community of believer status this, he says, ‘but exhort one another daily, while it is called today, let any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin’. So, he is exhorting the believers to continuously encourage each other. Encourage regarding what? We can encourage one another in the knowledge of who we are in Christ, we could speak words of declaration over our brothers and sisters and as the Spirit leads us, recognize what God wants to be spoken to them in that moment. May be the Lord just wants to affirm to them that they are a child of God, may be the Lord just wants us to affirm to them that they are forgiven, may be the Lord wants us to affirm to them that He has called them for a wonderful and a great destiny. So, we can use our words to do this and we know the power of our words. The Scriptures teach us that life and death is in the power of our words. So, when we use our words to strengthen and build people up and not tear them down, God can work in their lives and God can guide them forward for the things that He has called them for. Encouraging people does not necessarily mean that we never discuss about challenges and issues in the friendship or the relationship and especially when it comes to mentoring people, we do notice that people have to work on certain areas in their lives and certain weaknesses that they may carry and the Scripture teaches us to exhort people, to speak the truth but in love. So, there is a way that we can bring up these matters and share a word of instruction so that people can overcome their weaknesses and people can rise up in the calling that God has for them. And true mentorship and true leadership is to point people forward that is by encouraging them, affirming all the good things that are in them but at the same time than helping them overcome their weaknesses as well. And especially when it comes to leading people, this is an essential skill to have to know how to encourage people. Sometimes, this can be done with our words, it can be done with a kind gesture, it can be done with our presence as well. So, knowing people, understanding their needs, being sensitive enough to hear from the Lord and minister into their situation is something that we can learn, we can develop this skill and it will surely lead us to healthy relationships. Let's pray together, Heavenly Father, we thank you that you have called us to build up one another, to minister to each other and serve each other. So, help us Lord to be encourage us and that we may all run and that we may all move forward and we may pursue the purpose that you have for us, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. Thank you for tuning in to Living Supernaturally, for more resources to strengthen your spiritual walk, please visit apcwo.org.