A Burden to Encourage

Colossians 2:1-3 - A Burden to Encourage 

Paul is a man of many emotions. We have seen him grateful, hopeful, confident, and rejoicing. And as we begin chapter 2, Paul tells us that he agonizes over Christians that he has never met as well as those to whom he has had the opportunity to minister. What is his burden? That they will be encouraged in their hearts. Isn’t that amazing? This is a man who has been beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, and left for dead, and he is broken-hearted because he knows they need encouragement. No doubt the struggles of the Christian life had brought many down – depression was a constant threat. Oftentimes, depression causes us to focus only on ourselves, and usually that focus is extremely negative. Thoughts that would never normally cross our minds capture us: thoughts of worthlessness and uselessness.

Even Christians need encouragement, and I’m here to tell you that encouragement comes through prayer. Yes, we need to pray, and we need others praying for us. But encouragement also comes from the fellowship of love that is centered in the family of God. Sadly, when we become discouraged, our first move is to pull away from the family, but we are truly knit together in love, fashioned into one body, and pulling away would require something as drastic as an amputation. And still, some do it, but as you read this, I want you to hear the truth and the passion in this next statement. The joy that comes from knowing that we are in this struggle together is indescribable. It isn’t a misery loves company kind of sentiment. It is the fellowship of soldiers fighting side-by-side. It is the loyalty of comrades lifting their brothers on their shoulders and carrying them into the future. Then add to that the supernatural enlightenment that comes as the Holy Spirit shows us the riches of His assurance and the understanding of the knowledge of the mystery that salvation is ours by God’s grace! As Dr. Chuck Kelly, President of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, always says, “There is a Hebrew word that describes this feeling: WOW!”

When we are in Christ and He is in us, we have access to the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden in Him. In Him, we know everything we need to know about living the Christian life, a life of joy and victory, even when we are in the depths of depression. Thank you, Jesus, for these wonderful gifts!