13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
Each of us needs encouragement. Just as things fall apart as a result of the Fall, so we too naturally wind down. The kid’s toys are a perfect example; they never seem to stay neatly organized. Nothing organizes itself. Even babies in the womb are being organized by the instructions in their DNA, put there by God. Life has a tendency to drain us, to throw difficulties in our path. You can see this especially in the older years. As the effects of a broken universe take their toll on the human body, diseases start to play out in reality. Cancers take over. Our bodies fall apart. Often when children are young our energies get concentrated on them and our marriages suffer. If we don’t encourage the growth in our marriage relationship, it will wither. If we don’t encourage our children’s growth, they will wither. When the inevitable struggles of life cross our path, we have a tendency to wither emotionally and spiritually. We get discouraged, depressed. We need someone to speak some truth, to encourage us. If you need some encouragement, go find a friend and be honest with them about how you feel. Don’t put it off. All we have is today. If we don’t stay encouraged we fall prey to sin’s power to deceive us. It is when we are weak, discouraged, that the lies seem to have greater appeal than they do in the light of day. Affairs often happen when people are discouraged in their marriage relationship. The numbing effects of drugs and alcohol have greater appeal when the pains of discouragement seem overwhelming. Wealth can deceive us when we are weak. That is why we need to be in the habit of encouraging each other. That should be our moment by moment practice when we come in contact with each other. As believers in Jesus, our lives should be oozing encouragement. Does it?
The Arnold Journey 