Encouragement

Be Strong and Courageous

Be Strong and Courageous

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In this “post”-pandemic era, the researchers tell us that there is a marked increase in the number of people who are discouraged, anxious and fearful about their lives, the times in which we live, and what lies ahead on the horizon. The increase appears to cut across all of society, including those who indicate they are followers of Jesus. This isn’t the first time that discouragement, anxiety and fear have been on the rise – and it would do us well to learn from those who have gone before us.

A transition in leadership was about to occur among the Israelites.(1) A respected leader was about to step down, and a new leader was about to take his place. The incoming leader had seen enough to know that he was stepping into a daunting task – prompting increased anxiety and fear over what could occur. There was a need for assurance and admonition – the need for a word aptly spoken. Perhaps we, too, need to hear those same words ourselves.

You Are Special

You Are Special

Recently i was reintroduced to the children’s book entitled “You Are Special” by Max Lucado. The story is about little wooden people who are called “Wemmicks”. Wemmicks spend their days scurrying about sticking gold stars on those who are pretty and talented, or gray dots on those who make mistakes. But on this particular day in the story, the stickering is all the more important because the Festival is at hand. The envied “Most Stars Award” and the dreaded “Most Dots Award” are about to be given out. Poor Punchinello is sure to be a shoo-in for the Most Dots. But thanks to a new friend, he is about to learn a very important lesson that no matter how others may judge our worth, God cherishes each of us just as we are.

That is a lesson we would all do well to remember. We live in a world that is obsessed with awarding stars and conferring dots, and we distribute them abundantly, utilizing all the means at our disposal. Social media has become our most preferred mode of rendering our judgement of stars or dots to the extent that we judge worth based upon the number of “likes” or “follows”….