Light + Light = Bright Light

So encourage each other and give each other strength, just as you are doing now. (I Thessalonians 5:11)

In what ways do you need encouragement today? Maybe your family has been under attack by the enemy of God - sick family members, cats acting badly, appliances breaking down, cars demanding repairs you didn't budget for, and kiddos acting out at the worst of times. You just want to utter those words of the old TV ad: "Calgon, take me away!" Remember this - today's worries and problems are best handled in the strength of God, not in yours alone.

We get our strength at the feet of Christ, but did you also consider just how much strength we get from each other? If you are like me, you have a great friend who is always there for you whenever you need that encouragement and strength. If you don't have that special relationship with anyone yet, that is where you begin - by prayerfully asking God to bring that person into your life. God never wants us to count on their strength over his, but he brings them alongside because he knows we need their arms!

Worries will come. Anxieties will weigh heavy upon us. This is part of life on this earth. Disappointments will attempt to drive us into despair. Tragedies will cause us to question why these things can happen. What do we do in those moments? We turn our eyes upon Jesus, keeping his face fully before us. Why? It is where we find our strength. When our eyes are on him, they are not on the worries and disappointments - they are on the one who can turn even the worst day into a 'redeemed day'. 

Just before penning these words to the Thessalonian church, our writer reminded the believers that they no longer belonged to the 'night' - their life was now one of 'light' and 'freedom'. The thing we need to realize is that darkness abounds all around us, but we don't have to be caught up in it. We are 'light' and as we come together 'in light', the light grows brighter and brighter - dispelling the darkest of places we could ever experience. Be light in a dark world today - someone needs that light to help their darkness dissipate. Just sayin!