A Challenge

It is so easy to get caught up in everything that is wrong. "The sink is leaking." "The car won't start." "We can't pay the rent this month." "My dad is really sick." "I am overwhelmed by fear." "I have anxiety problems." "We still haven't sold the house." "The school called. Lice outbreak." "The fridge is empty, and the pantry." But what exactly do we achieve when we weigh our mind down with all this stress. Just thinking about it won't change anything. STOP. There are going to be somethings sometimes that you just can't fix on your own. Pray about them, read God's word to give you peace  and be still. Sometimes, that is all you can do. But what do you do in the mean time?

My dad has always told me that when you are struggling with something like fear, go speak faith into some else's life. Or perhaps when you are struggling financially, go bless someone else with what finances you do have or pray for God to bless them financially. The first time I took his advice, I was astonished with the outcome. Blessing someone else in my time of need, blessed me. This idea has been forgotten in today's world. So many people are out to cover their own skin before considering what anyone else needs. 

Hebrews 10:24-25 says this,

"Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near."

After reading this scripture, I felt challenged. What can I do to help motivate and encourage others to do good and show love? The first step, do it myself of course but at random! If you haven't fully grasped the concept yet, I'm talkin' random acts of kindness. The kind where you randomly do something or give something out of the ordinary to someone you may or may not know without getting anything in return. For example, when my grandma was dying in the hospital I spent many days up there and lots of money on parking. After leaving the hospital of what seemed like one of her worst days, I pulled up to the parking attendant to pay and as I reached for my wallet, the bar immediately rose to let me through. I went ahead and asked how much it was and she proceeded to share with a huge smile that the man in front of me had paid for my parking. Shocked, I just kind of stared at her for a moment and offered to pay for the person behind me to keep the kindness going. 

What if everyone really grabbed ahold of this concept? What if every single week we made a change in our routine just to show love to someone or to encourage them? I know this post was lengthy but I pray that God would grip your heart to do something to encourage someone this week and in the weeks to come. Are you up for the challenge? I am.