Balcony People: Biblical Encouragers
Isaiah 35:3-4 3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. 4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong , fear not: behold, your Godwill come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
4 Types of People:
Those
who add to us
Those
who subtract from us
Those
who multiply us
Those
who divide us
Balcony People:
See and
look for the good
Cheer
others on to success
Build
bridges of Reconciliation
Tell
the truth with grace
Expect
miracles
Protect
others
Stand
for what is right
Energize
others
Exhort
others
Balcony People in the Bible:
Lead in encouragement - God, heavenly balcony of saints
Trust Authority - "Mrs. Noah"
Step out in faith - Rahab
ON THE CONTRAST
BASEMENT people in the Bible:
Satan - Accuser
Job's friends - Question everything
Job's wife - Belittle others
Balcony People in your life:
Recognize your gifts
Encourage you to believe
Flame your potential
Becoming a balcony person:
Pay attention to those around you
Respond to their needs
Present encouragement with sensitivity
Call no person hopeless
Look for their strengths
Seize opportunities to encourage
Traits balcony people learn and give away:
Love from the heart
Listen from the heart (listen more/talk less)
Care from the heart
SIDE NOTE:
Biblical approaches to encouraging...
1. Being present - II Corinthians 7:6
2. Using words - Proverbs 16:24
3. Taking action - Exodus 17
Wow...that's a lot to take in...a lot to mull over...a lot to think through...so...what am I? A balcony person - cheering others on...or a basement person - accusing, questioning, and belittling? I have to say that being in a profession - or many of them as the case may be - where I deal with people over and over and over again (the same people) it gets easy to get caught in the rut of always seeing the bad...and not the good. When you are constantly saying the same thing over and over and over and over again...beating your head against the brick wall...it is hard to be a balcony person...BUT isn't that exactly what God does for us? ...OVER AND OVER AND OVER again we fail Him...constantly...and yet, what does He do...He just keeps picking us back up...brushing us off...giving us mercy, grace, forgiveness, and strength...and saying "I know you can do it with my help."
Another thing that I took from this was how thankful I needed to be for my balcony people in my life. Those who have encouraged me to press on even when I fail...those who keep loving me even though I'm not perfect...those who see the good in me and encourage me to keep on keeping on...ALL of those people are God's grace to me...and for that I am eternally grateful.
How about you? Are you a balcony person? Or maybe a basement person who needs to step up some steps and get to the balcony? Can you think of balcony people in your life? Those who are there, cheering you on...? Maybe take the time today to write them a note of thanks...thank them for being a balcony person in your life.
