“O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!”  Psalm 39:4

It’s so good to know that our days have already been measured out for us.  Some days are very hard to live through and yet by God’s grace we survive.  When time seems to stand still, we’re reminded that our life is really fleeting or passing swiftly away.  How do we get through the days that are hard and yet in view of eternity are fleeting?  We need each other to help us to take the next step even when it hurts, even when it’s hard.

“…encourage one another and build one another up…” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

When life is hard, we need encouragement.  We need someone to hold us and let us cry.  Our ears need to hear the truth spoken to us and we need to listen. Relationships are so very important when the day is hard.  It’s so helpful to know you can turn to someone who will listen and then encourage you.  God in His infinite wisdom gave us the church to be our family, His family.  He knew we would need one another to help us as we follow Christ.

“My heart overflows with a pleasing theme…” Psalm 45:1a

We all need to be ready to encourage one another when the day is hard.  We can’t be ready unless we are filling our hearts ahead of time with the Scriptures, who God is and who we are as followers of Christ.  The pleasing theme comes from the knowledge of the truth.  We need to continually fill our hearts, then when life is hard for our friend, we are ready to encourage.  We should want to overflow with truth and encouragement.  This filling will also help us when we are on the receiving end because we can accept the encouragement.  It removes that pride which so easily gets in the way.

What does it look like in practice?

The day was hard.  Tears were just under the surface.

 “How are you?”  “Not so good.”  Tears…he held her.

Later… “I need a hug”  Tears…she held her and then cried while speaking the truth.

Tears…a hug  “I understand.”   “I know you do.”

“Would you like to have lunch?  I knew this would be a hard day for you.”  Tears…control and lunch.  Much laughter and then the friend ordered her a hot fudge sundae.  “Do you want me to get fat?”  The reply was precious as she said, “Sometimes you just need it!” 

Yes, sometimes we just need it!  We need encouragement without judgement.  We need grace upon grace.  We need pointers to Jesus.  At any time we can be that encourager, the one providing grace or the pointer to Jesus.  God uses us in both positions.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”  2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Be on the lookout for the person who can benefit from your comfort.  It may be a hug that’s needed.  It may be truth spoken.  Or it may be a hot fudge sundae because sometimes you just need it!