Encouraged in the Lord

Hi, this is Cynthia Dowling, and have you ever thought about using the alphabet as a tool for encouragement? I heard this thought mentioned at a ladies’ retreat one time, and it really logged in my mind and incubated. You may be wondering, what's the alphabet got to do with encouragement? Probably not much, really. But as a tool it can be used to have ready verses of encouragement at the tip of your tongue throughout the day for yourself, for your family, and for others that the Lord brings across your path that need encouragement. This is the month of thankfulness, and when we're thankful to God and to others, everyone is encouraged. So how does it work?

For me, I just listed out the alphabet letters vertically in my cell phone and started with the letter “A.” Then, I thought of a verse or a part of a verse that started with the letter “A.” My first verse is “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” And, of course, you can shorten it to “All things work together for good” because you already know the qualifications. So, when anything unexpected comes into your day or into your life, you can think of “A,” All things work together for good”; and then anticipate how God is going to use this challenge to bring something good into your life—and “voila” you've encouraged yourself in the Lord. For the letter “B”, my phrase is “Be still and know that I am God.” What a wonderful truth to keep in mind when things get topsy turvy! For the letter “C,” the first verse that came to mind is one of my favorites, “Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you.” How powerful is that one! I can cast my care on God, while knowing that He cares for me, and He will take care of it. So, you can see how easy it is to go through the alphabet and attach a faith-strengthening, encouraging verse to each of the letters, while having ready encouragement for any family member, friend, or acquaintance, and especially yourself!

Did you know encouraging yourself in the Lord is actually in a verse in the Bible? David was living in the city of Ziklag before he became king, and he and his men went off to fight, leaving family and goods behind. They were gone 3 days, and when they came back, the city was burned and all their families and goods taken away by thieving nomads. Can you even imagine how devastated David and his men were? In fact, those men who had been with him through thick and thin for years wanted to stone David. What did David do? In 1 Samuel 30, verse 6, the Bible says, “David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” How could he respond that way at such a low point in his life? Because David knew his God. And he knew that his God works all things together for good--even terrible, horrific circumstances. Isn't that verse a treasure? No matter what comes into our lives we can encourage ourselves in the Lord, because He is doing something really good. While not underestimating the good that God was doing in David and his men's lives and hearts, we find out a little bit later in this chapter some of the great and tangible good that God did. First, God enabled David and his men to rescue every person that had been kidnapped, and no one was injured in any way! Second, because those thieving nomads had plundered many cities along the way, David and his men were able to acquire abundant booty in conquering them. Do you know what David did with those goods after giving his men their share? He repaid every city who had harbored and protected him and his band, during the many years he was running from Saul. Isn’t God amazing? Then, in quick succession, David became king in Hebron!

Our reasons for encouraging ourselves in the Lord may not be as dramatic and vital as David’s, but we can look at each situation that comes into our lives through the lenses of encouraging ourselves in the Lord and waiting to see the good that God has in mind.

I hope you'll join me in creating an alphabet list of verses that encourage your own heart, and even memorizing that list. Then, when you're in the car or when you're vacuuming or when you're out and about, those verses can pop into your mind as words of encouragement straight from the Lord. Now, if you're like me and you play alphabet games in the car with license plates and signs, you know there are certain letters that are very difficult to find—so I will give you my “Q” verse and my “X” verse. The “Q” verse is “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” Prepositions in the English language, like “in,” aren’t counted for much, so I didn't count that one in this context! For the letter “X,” I use “Excellent is thy loving kindness.” On this one, I actually capitalized the letter “E” and “X” because together they both say the letter “X”. Well, we can’t forget “Z,” so let's end with, “The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.” With this last verse, I discounted the article “the.” So, don't get too ticky with the rules, enjoy yourself, and encourage yourself in the Lord with alphabet phrases that you can use 24/7! And don't forget the children; your little ones can memorize verses for “A,” “B,” “C,” and more, depending on their ages; and they can have verses in their hearts that encourage them, too. And you never know, they might use them to encourage you! So, make it a family affair and enjoy the encouragement of the Lord.