An Encouraging Faith

For I want very much to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, that is, to be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. (Romans 1:11-12 CSB)

I finally broke down and watched the animated movie Inside Out by Disney Pixar. If you’re unfamiliar with the movie, it’s an incredible allegory for how important it is to feel all of your emotions. The two main emotions, Joy and Sadness, are your main characters who both grow by realizing that it’s okay for our memories to have sadness to them, as long as we remember not to drown in it.

Now, while I do 100% recommend this movie, I also recommend a box of tissues and a carton of ice cream for after. It’s an emotionally brutal movie. But, I bring it up because Joy is a character that really has stuck out to me these past few days.

Joy isn’t usually my first emotion with things. Because of my faith, I can eventually land there (praise God!) but it takes some processing (and let’s face it, some sulking) before I finally get on track with God’s plan and can feel joy about it. BUT, I do want joy to be my first emotion. I love being able to encourage others and help them feel better about their own situation or faith.

Now, I don’t believe that there’s a gaggle of characters in my head that help me feel the emotions that I do, but I fully believe that there’s a gaggle of imperfect but wonderful ladies in my life that help me feel the emotions that I do.

In this short passage in Romans, Paul talks about being mutually encouraged by each other’s faith! Just like in the movie, the emotion people don’t want their person to feel sadness or fear or any negative feelings so it’s Joy’s job to keep that from happening. In real life, we have people who walk alongside us that help us navigate our situations by pointing everything back to Jesus. This brings so much more joy and encouragement than anything else because it’s founded on our Cornerstone. It’s founded in the Spirit that allows us to feel joy. It’s founded in God. 

So, how do we encourage people with our faith?

By creating our foundation in it

What Paul mentions here is a mutual encouragement. It isn’t just being lifted out of our negativity by others constantly, and not putting in any work on our end. Say it with me: Mutual means we BOTH do it!

So, what’s the work that we need to do?

This may seem redundant, but you have to actively have faith. Constantly seeking God in every situation. 

When I worked at a law firm, I remember hearing about a case where a man bought a house without doing any inspections. It was the perfect location for him, and only needed some minor touch ups from what he could see.

Well, he made a bad call. After the closing had long passed and the house was officially his, he decided he had some extra money to do some remodeling. Unfortunately, the foundation was bad. Cracked, damaged, and the pipes that ran through it were at the end of their life too. They’d have to start from scratch. There was no way to remodel or fix anything without starting with the foundation.

Now his little remodel became having to build a whole new house.

Did you know that it’s okay to do that with our faith, too? If your foundation is cracking, or even if you built it on sand and want to try again on solid rock, you can do that. There’s no shame in it, at all, because without a firm foundation for our faith, we won’t be able to build anything on top of it.

So, I challenge you to take some time this week and see where you’re lacking (I promise that you’re lacking somewhere) and either rebuild it, or build it up some more! (I don’t even know if this analogy makes any sense anymore!)

I love reading the Bible, but gosh there are some days that I’m like “Is ten verses enough for You, God?” or days where I just crawl into bed and realize I didn’t read at all. This isn’t a foundation I need to break up and start over on, but something I need to build on further by creating habits!

One that I need to completely restart on is praying. I could talk for ages, but until recently, I realized I wasn’t completely honest with God when I prayed. I would thank Him for the nice things He’s given me, but I didn’t always confess sin and I almost never told Him about when I was upset with the circumstances I found myself in, whether by my own sin or God’s plan. I would leave my prayer time feeling unsettled, and not at all satisfied with the time. Mind you, this was as recent as six months ago!

It’s okay to realize where we need to re-create our foundation in Him, it’s not okay to realize it and do nothing about it. It will get us absolutely nowhere. So, again, I challenge you to inspect your foundation. Spend days, weeks, months, really praying about it and reflecting, and then build! If you need any help, please let us know, we’d love to walk alongside you through this!

By sharing it

Now, after you’ve cleaned up your proverbial foundation, think back to the times that you felt most encouraged by a sister in Christ. Did they just listen to you? Did they quote the perfect scripture at just the right time? Did they walk alongside you during a really hard time? Help fill a physical need?

How can you do these things for others? 

Building upon the aforementioned foundation, we can start memorizing those helpful verses to share when a friend (or even ourselves) need the reminder of God’s character. We can lean into the attributes of God that He shares with us, like mercy and faithfulness and being loving, and write those letters that remind people they aren’t alone.

We can be patient, because God is patient, and listen to others without wanting to talk about ourselves.

Because of our faith, we know that God is going to keep His promise for us to have eternity with Him. When we compare our problems and concerns to that little nugget, things start to pale in comparison. When we remember that Jesus walked this earth and felt the same emotions that we did, and still remained faithful through it all, we can see that it’s possible.

This is why we’re to share it together. To love one another so much that when we see the other falling, we point them to the only perfect thing that we can: the love God has for us.

It’s our job. Our duty. And it’s something that is so important to Paul that he truly sought out the opportunity to do it.

By allowing ourselves to be encouraged

Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:23-25 CSB)

Again, going back to the term mutual, this isn’t one sided. I feel like, as women, we have a tendency to over give. We over give our time and resources, and end up feeling burnt out. That isn’t what Paul is endorsing here. Instead it’s the opposite- it’s that realization that we need each other in order to be encouraged. 

When one of us falls, it’s our job to pick the other up. But, it isn’t our job to hide the fact that we’re falling. Even if we end up stumbling around trying to help each other, it’s better than laying on the ground with no idea how to get up.

Okay, it’s another weird analogy… We’ll move on now.

I digress. I know that you are a strong woman. Your friends and family know that you’re a strong woman. There’s no need to fake it ‘til you make it when you have people in your life who are willing to walk it with you.

So, when you get that bad news, share it! Let us hear you out so that it doesn’t rot in your brain. When you feel those negative emotions that make you feel so heavy, share it. Praying about it is the first and most important step, followed closely by gathering together and allowing others to encourage YOU.

Our faith is encouraging just because of what it is. By faith, we are saved. Not by our works, not by our being “good.” This is a gift that we can share and remind others of when they get bogged down in life. This is not our home, you guys, it’s just a stopping point before eternity with Him. Remind people of that.