I read a story of a pastor in Ukraine who was about to flee when the war broke out. As he was preparing to evacuate, he heard the Lord tell him to stay and serve the weary. He began each day seeking God for encouragement that he could give whoever the Lord brought. He then would open the doors of the church to whomever would come in. Soon he began making soup to feed the people who were stopping in. He listened to their stories, encouraged them through God’s Word and prayed with them. People said that he gave them hope to get through one more day. Through his obedience and encouragement, he changed the spiritual climate in his city.
In Acts 11, the Early Church in Antioch came under attack. Stephen had been one the first martyr of the faith and people were scared. Instead of going behind closed doors, the ones preaching began spreading the Gospel to the Gentiles too. The leaders in Jerusalem heard what was happening and they sent Barnabas to them. When he arrived, he saw what was going on and began encouraging everyone to stay true to their faith. He knew the believers and the preachers needed more help and went to find Paul to bring him to Antioch. God also used this son of encouragement to change the spiritual climate of a city.
Isaiah 50:4 says, “The Lord Yahweh has equipped me with the anointed, skillful tongue of a teacher — to know how to speak a timely word to the weary. Morning by morning, he awakens my heart. He opens my ears to hear his voice, to be trained to teach” (TPT). God is looking for people who will seek Him each morning to hear from Him so they can encourage the weary. He will give you the words to say and how to speak a word in season if you will yield to Him. We live in a world whose spiritual climate needs to be changed. Each of us can play our part through by listening to God and speaking the encouraging words He gives us.
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 