“Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings. The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes. In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep; and it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land. And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns. With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns. And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.”
Isaiah 7:10-25 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/isa.7.10-25.KJV
Encouragement That Builds
Have you ever regretted not taking the time to speak life or truth over someone? Maybe they were going through a hard time and you weren't sure what to say, but you felt like you could have—and should have—said something.
When Paul, the author of 1 Thessalonians, is writing to the church in Thessalonika, he gives them some practical advice...
Paul tells the church to continue to encourage one another and keep building each other up. This was something they were already doing, but Paul felt it necessary to remind them to keep doing this.
Encouragement can change someone’s attitude. It can lift someone out of a dark place. It can remind them of what's true when the truth feels foggy. Speaking life and truth over someone can give them the hope and determination they need to push through a hard season.
Maybe you can remember a time when someone encouraged you during a challenging season of life, and the difference it made for you. Paul is encouraging us to do that ...