Some days are better than others, but the best one are not necessarily when everything seems to go well. In fact, some of the very best ones may not be going great at all. The best days are when you get a text, an email, a card in the mailbox, a phone call, or even a look-in-the-eye conversation that digs through all the dirt, rubble, and mud of what the daily grind can do to a person...and unearths not more of same, but gold.
Finding treasure in who someone is in God's eyes (no matter what others have said or labeled in the past, or the negative, accusatory tapes that play from time to time), and then showing it to them, is more than a "don't worry, be happy" moment. It is one of the juciest fruits of a lifestyle of worship. It is rebroadcasting the truth of who God is and how He sees us. And not just in general terms, but the way in which He uniquely made and shines through you and me in some fashion.
From the calling of young Joshua to be a leader, to the calling of the first Christ-ones to hold fast to what is true, to life on planet earth in late August 2016, God's good and forth-telling message has been the same:
"From the beginning of time, I have ordained encouragement, and it is good, and it has a purpose beyond speaking mere words. Because when you encourage someone in Me, you don't just make them feel good, you strengthen them for who they really are in My eyes, and for the Great Adventure I have for them ahead. Even if it is just strength to take the next step. Even if it is something as simple and rock-solid true as this positive ID: 'See what an incredible quality of love the Father has shown us, that we should be permitted to be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are!...' And if someone beats you to it today and calls out the gold in you, please....pay it forward (yes, that was My idea, too)."
"It is easy to laugh at men's ideals; it is easy to pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it is easy to discourage others. The world is full of discouragers. We have a Christian duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. Blessed is the man who speaks such a word." (William Barclay)
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