Day 43 - exhortation

Yesterday was about kindness.  Today is about encouragement.

'Arent they the same thing ? ' I hear you cry

No. I dont think so.  Although they can sometimes look very similar.

Yesterday I went to visit my pal Denise.  We pray together every week ( recent thing which has turned out to be exceedingly amazing - answered prayers all over the place!)  and we also paint together on a regular basis.  Yesterday was a praying day so we took some time to chat over the people and situations we wanted to pray for, then we prayed and then, at the end, Denise said ...  ' Ive got something for you'  and she produced a card which she had made for me.  On it was a picture which she felt God had given her for me along with an interpretation which she had written down in a notebook.

It is a very very long time since anyone has given me a prophetic word.  I was really blessed by the thought that she had been praying for me, had taken the time to listen to what God said and write it down, then paint it onto a card and share it with me.  How lovely was that? !    The word she gave me wasnt a flowery sugary ; God-is-nice-and-He-likes-you' word.   It was challenging because it touched on the place where I am at with God just now and mentioned various things which Denise didnt know I had been thinking about but which are currently on my mind.  Her word did not say that everything is going to come up roses.  But it did indicate to me that God knows where I am.  He sees the reality and wants to encourage me to move on from here to the next place.

Kindness prays.  Kindness says nice things from a position of caring.  But exhortation is not afraid to put a gentle toe to the backside because it wants to push someone forward to be a better version of themself.   Exhortation is someone standing just that bit further along the road, yelling encouragement to the one coming along behind.  Shouting ' you can do it!'   And sometimes pushing from behind with a ruthless determination to get the very best out of the person who just wants to sit down by the side of the road and rest.   Exhortation sees what God sees in somebody and calls it out. It is not afraid of rejection or being misunderstood because it recognises that its all about the other person and not about the self.

I like watching those fat to fit programmes on the telly where a personal trainer works with a morbidly obese person for a year and tortures them with an impossible exercise and diet regime until they have lost half their body weight and end up getting their life back.  It can be a really brutal process.  But there always seems to be a lot of love between trainer and fat person.  The success of the whole thing depends on there being trust and respect and genuine affection between the parties otherwise it just doesnt work.   I think this is how God works with us.   He knows all that we can be and He is determined to get us there.  He needs us to love and trust Him so that when He shouts at us to get off our backsides and work hard we dont feel bullied and harassed.   We need Him to understand that it is hard for us and that sometimes we are just going to have to have a good cry and a piece of cake before we get up and start again.  Its a partnership.  It is tough love.  But it is really good.

I need my friends to encourage me from time to time.  It is especially good when they tune into the encouraging heart of God and give me both barrels of whatever it is that He has for me.  I want to be that person for my friends too .  Seeing past the familiarity and complacent knowing, and building on the trust and love to push them forward into more of God.

Sorry.  Couldnt resis this  :)