‘…encourage the fainthearted, help the weak…’ 1 Thessalonians 5:14 NAS
One day a mouse looked out through a crack in a farmhouse wall and saw a mousetrap. He went to tell his buddy the chicken, but the chicken said, ‘Sorry, pal, not my problem.’ Dejected, the mouse was left alone to handle the situation. That night, a poisonous snake got caught in the mousetrap and when the farmer’s wife went to investigate she got bitten. She developed a raging fever, and everyone knows you treat a fever with chicken soup. So the farmer took his axe to the barn for the main ingredient!
It’s a silly story but the truth is that God says we are to look out for others. Jesus said Do for others just what you want them to do for you. (Luke 6:31 GNT) Paul wrote to the Romans, ‘…encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.’ It only takes one thing to be an encourager: a willingness to ‘…bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.’ (Romans 15:1 NAS) Before deciding somebody else’s problem has nothing to do with you, read this: ‘…If one member suffers, all the members suffer…’ (1 Corinthians 12:26 NKJV) You can’t sit on the sidelines while someone’s hurting; tomorrow it may be you! We are told to ‘Share each other’s burdens…’ (Galatians 6:2 NLT) When one of us is threatened we’re all at risk. Our lives are woven together for a reason; each of us is a vital thread in another person’s tapestry.
SoulFood: Gen 1–3, Matt 17:1–13, Ps 40:1–8, Pro 6:1–5
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©