Encourage, Help and Be Patient

When you meet someone, what do you see? Are you quick to judge their appearance, mannerisms or speech? Do you spend time looking a little closer at what is going on in their life?

"And we urge you brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone." - 1 Thessalonians 5:14

It has been an enlightening few weeks for me, I have met a few people that are carrying great burdens. I would not have noticed this in their faces. They carry an illness, death of a loved one, a painful past, mistakes, and many other things. Some people can hide their pain very well. Others, not so much. But, either way they were all in need of some encouragement.

In reading the Life Application Study Bible, NIV, a birthday present from my amasing boyfriend, TR, there is a description of this verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:14. Part of it reads: "The key to ministry is sensitivity: sensing the condition of each person and offering the appropriate remedy for each situation. You can't effectively help until you know the problem. You can't apply medicine until you know where people are wounded."

Our Heavenly Father, from His word, encourages us to stand, sometimes patiently, with each other, supporting each other and being an encouragement to each other. Be kind and understanding because you may not know what someone is carrying in their heart.

When you see others around you, won't look a little closer? You may just have the medicine that they need.