Everybody knows the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joshua, David, and Solomon.
Remember how these men went through rough patches and came out victorious? One thing you can say was common in all cases is that they all trusted in the lord.
When you find yourself in a hurtful state, you, too, need to do the same. You need to encourage yourself in the lord. In other words, you need to find something that connects you to the lord to hang on to. That could be the scripture, a song, someone, an artwork, or anything.
If you step into my room right now, you’ll find so many inspirational plaques hanging on the wall. I normally take inspiration from several Bible verse and Christian room decor ideas and then make artworks from them, which I would later hang in my room. I put these up because they brighten up my room with God’s Word and make me feel motivated and inspired EVERYDAY with powerful scripture.
In this post, I’m going to show you a number of ways you can encourage yourself in the lord.
1. Say it out loud
The bible is filled with many encouraging affirmations – words you can say to yourself to feel better. When you feel like you’re losing it or like times are so hard, take out encouraging words from the scripture and make them your mantra.
For example, here are some amazing Christian affirmations:
- GOD WILL MAKE MY DREAMS COME TRUE – Psalm 37: 4
- MY STEPS ARE ESTABLISHED BY GOD – Psalm 40: 2
- GOD IS MY STRENGTH. In the Bible: Psalm 37: 39
- BE STILL, MY HEART – Psalm 46: 10
- I WILL NOT BE MOVED – Psalm 125:1
You’ll be surprised at how fast these words can calm your mind and make you think clearly again.
2. Talk to God
The greatest weapon Christians have is the ability to talk to God. When the going gets tough and all feels cloudy, do not hesitate to pray to the lord.
You could sit in your room and communicate with him. You could be in your kitchen. You could be driving. Or you could even be at work.
Doing this will help you in two ways.
One, it will give you the relief of being able to talk to someone about your challenges. Secondly, it will give you the consolation that an answer/solution is on its way.
3. Consume encouraging scriptures
The book of Philippians is nicknamed the ‘Book of joy.’ Would you believe me if I told you Apostle Paul wrote that book while in Jail?
Can you imagine that? Churning out joyful texts while locked in a prison. That’s the height of hope, faith, and confidence in God. He was so convinced by whom he served that he didn’t really care about his present predicament.
When you consume these kinds of texts, you begin to see life in a different light. Things that bothered you before stop shaking you. And suddenly, you become more confident in God.
The bible is filled with so many similar stories. Just read through and find your anchor.
4. Surround yourself with like-minded Christians
One line I commonly use around my friends is there are CHRISTIANS, and there are ‘Christians.’ The fact we all go to church and claim to follow Christ doesn’t mean we understand and use the scriptures the same way.
Sometimes, moving with Christians whose perspective about things differs from yours can make matters worse when you’re going through a rough patch in life.
To get the sort of encouragement you need to get back on your feet, try to surround yourself with like-minded Christians – people whose views and perspectives about life align with yours.
If you look deeply into your circle, I’m sure you can figure these people out.
5. Spend more time in the church
Imagine losing your job, and then someone tells you to head straight to the church; how would you react? I’m guessing you wouldn’t be too impressed.
And who can blame you? That’s probably the last place on your mind.
But guess what? That’s exactly where you want to be.
Not only will your mood be lifted in a church, but it’s also encouraging to be in an atmosphere where God’s presence is felt.