Lift Someone’s Spirits
Hi, I’m Joni; spend time with me, and I’ll soon have you singing.
May the mind of Christ, my Savior, Live in me from day to day, Life is love and power controlling All I do and say.
You know, the other day I was feeling a little discouraged – that can happen every once in awhile in this wheelchair of mine; but this discouragement was hanging over from the day before. God obviously knew my spirits needed a lift, and so that day when I got home from work, I noticed a letter for me on the kitchen table. But glancing at the return address, I had no idea who the sender was. And even after I opened it and looked at the signature, a young man from Atlanta named Nathan, I still didn’t recognize the guy. Only after reading was it clear that Nathan was the nephew of a friend of mine out here in California. And for some reason, he just felt compelled to write a few encouraging words. And I just have to quote exactly from Nathan’s letter, because this is what he said; he said:
“Joni, as a young minister – who I am – I sometimes tell my kids that when God says anything, he’s promising. And when he promises anything, it’s as good as swearing. And when God puts his character on the line by swearing, we had better listen up. And Joni what has God sworn concerning you? Well, he says in Deuteronomy 33, ‘As your days, so shall your strength be.’ Joni, your strength will be equal to the moments God gives you. So, are your hands drooping and your knees weak? Just remember every hint of sadness or weariness only qualifies you all the more to lean on Christ with the full weight of your soul. So today, may God give you, Joni, the grace, this very moment, to rest in him for the 100,000th time, and rest knowing that the King of glory receives you back as if you were leaning on him for the very first time. And as Samuel Rutherford said, ‘Dry wells always send us to the fountain.’” And then he signed his letter “Nathan.”
Well, I cannot begin to tell you the weight I felt lift off my shoulders after I put that letter down. And although I never have met Nathan, this young youth minister from the Atlanta area, I am sure grateful to God that Nathan followed through on a simple prompting from the Spirit – probably from his aunt out here in California – to reach out and encourage me, someone he’s never met. And it’s amazing how those couple of snippets from Scripture and that quote from Samuel Rutherford, and, of course, his own words – it’s amazing how my heart suddenly swelled with hope, and I was able to breathe in fresh courage for the remainder of the day. All because one young man on the other side of the country took time to care and do something about it. So I would encourage you today, if God is nudging you to lift the spirits of someone you know with a few words of Scripture, then by all means, follow through on it. Make good on it. Do something about it. Jot a note, send an email, send some flowers, drop a card, leave a message on their voice mail – whatever it takes. Because out there somewhere is someone you know who needs to be reminded that for the 100,000th time they need to lean on the Lord for rest and help and hope. And I think this program today is just a reminder from the Lord that you are the one to encourage them.
© Joni and Friends
31 Days Toward Overcoming Adversity
Are you feeling a storm raging in your life? Joni takes you not out of the storm you feel you are in, but straight into the eye. Because there in the center is a calm, quiet place where confidence, strength, and even joy can be found.
