Trusting God in the Midst of Life’s Struggles

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. -Ephesians 4:29

I have had many a conversation with someone who was sick or going through a bad time, and something they all agree on is that we cannot have too much prayer; the more people praying for you, the better. We cannot have too much prayer, and we can’t have too many people praying for us. The same is true with encouragement. That is something we can never receive enough of, and the more we get the better off we are. The reason being that it takes several encouraging words to overcome just one negative one. What I’m saying is that if we are given several words of encouragement, all it takes it one unkind, inconsiderate, or hateful word, and we are emotionally knocked back to where we started. It’s been proven that it takes several positive statements to overcome just one negative statement. And we do hear negative words a lot, don’t we? No where in the Bible will we find that believers are supposed to say negative things to one another, but just the opposite; we are to encourage one another, be kind to one anther, let wholesome talk come from our mouths – that which is useful for building up the body of Christ. The Bible teaches that we ought to be kind, encouraging, and helpful to one another, for we all are facing struggles and trials of one sort or another. Ancient philosopher Plato said that we ought to be kind to one another, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. That is a purely Christian way of thinking.
When we are facing some trial we need all the encouragement we can get, and we can find it in God’s Word, and we hopefully we can receive it from the body of Christ – the church. Take a look around; there are people all around us who are hurting inside. Reach out to them with the love of Christ. Offer a kind, encouraging, and hopeful word. Such consideration can make all the difference for someone who is struggling through some hardship. Reach out and offer hope in the name of Jesus, for He is the ultimate hope.