Si…

(Paroles de Jésus?: ) Venez à moi, vous tous qui vous fatiguez et qui êtes chargés, et moi, je vous donnerai du repos. Matthieu 11. 28

Celui qui boira de l'eau que je lui donnerai, moi, n'aura plus soif, à jamais?; mais l'eau que je lui donnerai sera en lui une fontaine d'eau jaillissant en vie éternelle. Jean 4. 14
 

Si ton existence est appesantie
par le mal que tu as fait,

par le mal qu'on t'a fait aussi,
et encore par le mal qui te dévore…
Si tu as mal à l'âme,
et au cœur, et au corps aussi…

Si ta nuit est sans étoiles
et ton jour sans soleil…
Si tu ne vois plus
le bout de ton chemin, si tu ne sais plus

la route à suivre…
Ne reste pas là sans bouger.
Tourne ton regard vers Jésus
qui déjà te fait signe.

Tends-lui la main,
il te présente déjà la sienne…
Tu verras,
tes forces reviendront,

tes yeux pétilleront de lumière,
ta vie reprendra tout son sens.
Et l'espoir refleurira
au jardin de ton cœur.

J. Beaulac

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Bound to Encourage

Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:24

Encouragement is water to the soul.

The Steven Thompson Memorial Centipede is a cross-country meet unlike any other. Each seven-member team runs as a unit, holding a rope for the first two miles of a three-mile course. At the two-mile mark, the team drops the rope and finishes the race individually. Each person’s time is, therefore, a combination of the pace the team kept and his or her own speed.

This year, my daughter’s team opted for a strategy I had not previously seen: They put the fastest runner at the front and the slowest right behind her. She explained that their goal was for the strongest runner to be near enough to speak words of encouragement to the slowest runner.

Their plans depicted for me a passage from the book of Hebrews. The writer urges us to “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess” (Hebrews 10:23) as we “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (v. 24). There are certainly many ways of accomplishing this, but the author highlighted one: “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another” (v. 25). Gathering together with other believers as we’re able is a vital aspect of the life of faith.

The race of life can feel like more than we can handle at times, and we may be tempted to drop the rope in hopelessness. As we run together, let’s offer one another the encouragement to run strong!

Jesus, thank You for the hope You offer. Thank You for never discouraging us. Help us imitate You by encouraging each other today.