What's in your hand?

"Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it ." - Prov. 3:27, KJV

This past week our lead pastor, Steve Whipple, was preaching on Giving Like God from John 3:16. Near the end he asked this question: What is in your hand? In light of this scripture from Proverbs, that is a very good question.

What do I hold in my hand that someone around me needs? Has God brought someone across my radar with a need that it is in my power to meet? Am I withholding some good from someone to whom it is due?

As I thought and prayed on this over the weekend one word kept coming to my mind: encouragement. Think about it. What is one thing everyone needs and everyone can give? Encouragement! It's something all of us can afford to be generous with and none of us can afford to live without. But how often do we withhold it from each other!

The word encourage literally means "to put courage into another person." We all face challenges every day. Even Jesus said that each day held enough trouble of its own (Matt. 6:34). His answer was that we should continuously set our eyes on God and the kingdom He was establishing, and the righteous life that would be the defining characteristic of that kingdom. But that takes courage.

Encouragement is so vital because it is much rarer than dis-couragement. Interesting thing about the prefix dis-: it is from the same Latin root that means twice or to divide. It literally indicates a separating or parting from something. So when we say we are discouraged, we are saying that we have been separated from our courage. It has been taken from us. So when the challenges come, when the trouble of the day rears its ugly head and threatens to overwhelm us, we have no courage left to deal with it. So we retreat, withdraw, hide, or, more often than not, simply do nothing and let life just happen to us. We take no part in it. We become disenchanted, disheartened, and disengaged. In short, we are a dis-couraged people.

Why? Because we refuse to see the significance of en-couraging each other, of putting courage back into someone who has been separated from theirs. Hebrews 10:23-24 says, "... let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near (emphasis mine)." It's not optional. You can't say, "I'm just not that kind of person." Are you a human? Are you a Jesus Follower? Then you are that kind of person!

It's true that for some it comes easily. Some have a gift of encouragement. But everyone everywhere who names the name of Jesus is required to encourage. Especially, the writer of Hebrews says, as the Day of His return draws nearer and nearer. Paul writes to the Thessalonian church about the return of Christ and then commands them to "encourage one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:18, ESV)

Hope gives us courage. Paul told the Corinthian believers, "Since we have such a hope, we are very bold." (2 Corinthinas 3:12, ESV) Paul was encouraged to speak plainly and openly and fearlessly about Jesus because he constantly reminded himself that Jesus was returning. And with His return would come a new heaven and a new earth. Death, Hell, Sin, and Satan would be no more. Now that's encouraging, isn't it?

So my wife and I have decided that as often as we can, we will be lavishly generous with our encouragement. We want to leverage whatever influence God has given us to put the courage to follow Jesus into everyone God brings into our path. What does that look like? Here are just a few practical ways we have thought of:

Use your Facebook to encourage. Put up a scripture that comforts or encourages. Send someone an encouraging message. Write on their wall what their friendship means to you. Brag on them on your wall.

Spend time with someone who needs encouragement. Take them to lunch. Invite them for coffee. Have them over for dinner. Invest your self into someone else personally.

Write them an encouraging note or card. end them an email just to tell them how much you appreciate them, especially if they sacrifice their time and energy serving in kingdom work. This is not just pastors or church staff (but God knows they desperately need encouragement!), but for volunteers and lay leaders as well.

Meet a real need for them. Lavishly and generously. One woman in our church is spending the holidays alone with three children while her husband serves our country in Iraq. It has been awesome to watch members of our church deliver firewood, offer to babysit, invite her family over for lunch, and just serve her in the name of Jesus. Nobody told them to. The love of God compelled them to. It is not only an encouragement to her, but to the rest of the church as we witness the love of Jesus in action, right in our midst!

So... what's in your hand? Who needs it desperately? Will you withhold it? Or will you allow God to love them through you, so that everyone around you can see Who He is and how He loves?