Fear No Fear

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, MEV). Jesus loves us enough to encourage us. That’s rare in this world. It’s hard to find encouragement. We all need it, but we aren’t all good at spreading it. We aren’t all good at identifying who needs it. And when. And how much. It can transform a relationship. Open the doors to deeper and more honest communication. Lack of it can lock people inside, feeling defeated, alone, and misplaced. We all need a sense of belonging. It’s fundamental to our mental health. One of the ways we feel like we belong is through encouragement. Jesus was constantly encouraging the disciples. Constantly pushing them to lift their eyes and see beyond. Letting them know they were equipped by God and COULD do what He was calling them to do. That they were NOT alone. That they had worth and value beyond what the world was telling them to do. This continued in the early church, with Holy Spirit raising people to be encouragers. People who had the calling to interact with the other believers and lift them out of their negative thinking into the clear light of His love. Encouragement is part of loving someone. It’s part of communicating that you are seeing them as they really are or as they could really be – instead of just what they are doing or the circumstances they are in. Encouragement is freeing. It is building. It is transforming. It shows that we SEE someone. It shows we care. It shows that there is more going on than just the surface and they are part of it. That they are wanted. God is the source of kindness and goodness and encouragement. He wants to love us into the best us we can be. He wants us to see it. Realise it. And walk into it with him. It is refreshing and encouraging to be in Jesus and have Jesus in us. It is restful to know we have this because He has us. We can because He did. And does. And refuses to let us go.