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by Suzanne Benner
** If you could talk to God about whatever is on your heart, would you? Consider the privilege of communicating with God in this study. http://thelife.com/study/growingfaith.html?section=communicate_god&ft=BSG-OS
“For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:11, 12).
My husband says we need to be intentional about having three types of people in our lives: those who can mentor us spiritually, those who are at a similar place to us in our spiritual walk and those whom we can mentor.
Regardless of how long you have known Jesus, you can be sharing what you know with those who don’t know Him as well. It’s not about having all the right answers or knowing exactly where to find it in the Bible, but rather about being willing to help guide another seeker to the truth.
Using the illustration of a father dealing with his children, Paul describes how he has cared for the Thessalonians.
His words provide a guide for us as we coach other believers.
Encouraging
We all need to be reminded of the truth when we are discouraged. You can help another believer along by reminding her of God’s love, that she has been forgiven, that our hope of salvation is secure. Refresh someone’s faith with a phone call, a card or an email; use a Bible verse or an illustration from your own life as an encouragement.
Comforting
The Bible tells us to “mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15). Be willing to share someone’s sorrow. A listening ear, a hug and a non-judgmental attitude are excellent ways to demonstrate compassion.
Urging
As a father or mother motivates and presses a child to keep on trying, to do his best, to finish the task, so we can urge a fellow believer to live a life worthy of God. By our words and the example of our own lives we can provide what is needed to instill the desire to finish the race.
Thank you, God, for the people who have helped me on my spiritual journey. Help me, in turn, to encourage, comfort and urge another believer on in her faith.
Questions: What is holding you back from mentoring a new believer? How can you encourage, comfort or urge someone on today?
About the Author: http://talk.thelife.com/experience/devotionalforwomen/authors/suzanne-benner/
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Thank you, Suzanne, for such a wonderful message! It is truly our privilege, and responsibility, to grow in our knowledge of God, and to share what He has taught us! It is wise, though, to be discerning of our audience, as there are many who are resistant to Truth and will invite confrontation. We are told in the Scriptures that the older women are to teach the younger women how to love their husbands, and I regret not having been a Christian when I got married, so that I would have sought such training! Unfortunately, I didn’t love my husband as God would have me love him, and it hurt our marriage. My husband is not a Christian, and is a difficult man to love, but had I been a believer early on, I would have had the power of the Holy Spirit in me, and the encouragement of mature, Christian mentoring women along side of me, to be a blessing to him in spite of our personality conflicts. I would encourage all young Christian women, who are married, to seek the loving encouragement and guidance of mature, married Christian women, who will share what the Lord has taught them, and partner in prayer for their marriages.
Marilyn, may God Bless you for your faithfulness to your husband! My husband and I have been married going on 37 years now. We were not Christians when we got married. I gave my life to the Lord when I was 28 and I am now 57. And he gave his heart to the Lord also, but fell away until about 5 years ago. In the years leading up to his total surrender to God I had a lot of baggage and junk in my life that I prayed for inner healing for and it took years for that to happen. It came through many tears and prayers, some mentoring. At the time we didn’t have any close friends that could mentor us. But through God’s mercy He has brought us to a place that much healing has taken place and we have some very close friendships who have mentored us and helped us tremendously. Now I want to do that same thing for others and I reach out whenever I can. I pray for opportunities to do this more. I have a lot that I can share. My husband does to but has not gotten to the point of being able to share exactly what happened five years ago that turned him completely around. I prayed for years and years for him to quit drinking and I had almost given up that this was the way I was going to have to live my life until one day something happened that the devil meant for evil but God brought it out for good. Praise the Lord. So my encouragement to anyone reading this post is to keep praying, keep asking, keep knocking because He will bring it to pass and His Word will not return void! Also if you are in a good church or respect someone who is a good Christian couple in your eyes and you think can help you then break down that wall and ask for help. It is SO worth it! God is faithful! Don’t ever give up on God because He loves us and will never give up on us. Bless you all!
Thank you, Barb, for your words of encouragement and testimony to God’s faithfulness in your life and marriage! I know that He is to be trusted, and I stand on His promises to redeem my broken marriage, in His perfect time! As I wait on Him to heal my husband’s heart, He is teaching me more about how to love His way! My husband struggles with forgiveness, as I was a rebellious wife to him before being saved. But, as he chooses to live with me, I choose to honor my vows to him, and will spend the rest of my life loving him, in hopes to see the day of redemption. I may not, according to God’s plan, but I entrust my husband to Him, believing that He will bring my husband to a saving knowledge of our Lord. I praise God that He has saved our children, and we pray collectively for my husband, their father. I have been richly blessed with a wonderful, godly mentor, who has shared my burden, and petitions God on our behalf. God is so good to provide comfort and encouragement for us during our times of waiting! God bless!
Marilyn and Barb: So loved your comments about marriage, I was just having a conversation with a young woman this morning in my shop about her marriage, she said a lady in our church had given her a book on being a Godly wife, to help her because her and her husband have been having a hard time, So I said” how did you like the book?” And she responded “I thought it was terriable!” she stated that she did’nt believe that a women should wait on her husband hand and foot, I tried to explain that God has called us to be helpmates and that offended her even more…..The world has twisted so many things and the devil has placed lies in so many young women, even christian women, that submitt has such a larger meaning than control. I do understand that some men take that verse out of context but I believe that a wonderful marriage starts with serving one another and so many young couples are missing it, I hear many women in my salon talk about their husbands (and I use to be one of them) with such disrespect and God convicted me one day of that. I didn’t realize that the words that I speak are so powerful and speaking negative was not helping at all… I do think that we as young, middle age, old are all called to help newly married women to see what the bible says about being a young wife, wether they are a stay at home mom or working mother it is our job to help them along. blessings.
thank you for a great devotional
Thank you Suzanne for such a enjoyable devotion. Marilyn and Barb
I can relate to what you said. I to was not saved nor my husband
when we got married 35 years ago. Both of us in our late 20’s got
saved. I had such a burning zeal for the Lord that I started out
running to him. My husband on the other hand took baby steps and
from time to time even just stood still. I had to decide, either to stay
at his pace, which meant I would have slow all the way down to a
crawl. I realized we have to make our own individual choice in serving
God, and that includes what pace we want to move at. Because we
are not on the same spiritual level, this sometimes give place to the
enemy to come in and attack. I made a vow unto God, just like I made
a marriage vow unto my husband. These are two vows I will never
break and I can say this with great confidence not in me but confidence in the greater one who live on the inside of me. I believe
that if these instructions was followed, mature christian women being
teachers or mentors to young christian women, what mature christian
women we will see bing produced. Paul talked about we having many
teachers but not many fathers in the gospel, which he was. This same
principle is to apply to the mature christian men. I usually let the Lord
direct me to some young believer in Christ to encourage and comfort,
as a mentor. I have been assigned by the Lord in times past a person
he want be to walk with and mentor. I have to be honest it wasn’t a
easy assignment. One of the assignment meant providing trans-
portation to church for evey service, also to a free in bondage class
once a week. I walk with this person for about two years, until I got
a release from God to let her walk on her own. there is one young
christan, who is a single mom of three kids, two are teenagers. This
young lady pretty much grew up in the church but lived a carnal life
as a believer. Well for some reason , which I knew was the Lord she
attacked herself to me and brought her problems to me, and I would
pray with her. Everytime I turn around at church she seem to be right
at my elbow. I discern that she was in search of and need of a mother
love, so I would hug her and encourage her whenever she was there.
This lasted for about a year and then I realized one day that she wasn’t at my elbow whenever I turned around anymore. I teased her
and told her, “you have grown up, you are a big girl now,”. I know that my time is over with her. In the meantime the Spirit of God will
draw me to a young person, male or female and it could be a one time
thing where I will hug and pour out words of encouragement to. I know that there wil be others God will assign me to, so I will wait on
him. Marilyn and Barb thank you for sharing your personal testimony
with us, it blessed me a lot. Marilyn God has raised you up and is using
you as a minister of the word, as a teacher of the truth, and a mentor
to women who are in need of one. Dear sister in Christ know this that
your labor in the Lord is not in vaine, you will reap in due season, as
you hold fast to the things of God and not faint. Barb keep on being
a witness and a encourager for the Lord and sharing your testimony
wtih others. Ladies have a refreshing day in the Lord.
God bless you, maia, for your willingness to stand for God’s Truth in marriage! It is not a popular opinion, but Jesus didn’t win any popularity contests in His day, either! Indeed, our roles, as wives, were created by design to be ‘help-meets’ to our husbands, to serve our husbands as unto Christ. It should be our greatest desire to help our husbands become the men of God He intended them to be! I, too, betrayed my husband and my marriage in years past, by my untamed tongue! Eager to gain allies, I would run to family (my brothers/parents) with my marital conflicts, not realizing how destructive that behavior would be! But, God has been merciful to me and has forgiven me, washing me clean of these sins! As this hurt my husband, and his trust in me, I must be patient and persevering, as God works carefully to heal my husband’s heart and our marriage! I do this willingly and in love, knowing that God is faithful to us as we put our trust in Him! Stay the course, dear maia, and keep sharing the truth with the young wives that God puts in your path! He will bless you, dear one, for your faithfulness!
Thank you, Shirley, for your kind and encouraging words! They have blessed me so! I find such joy in fellowship with my sisters-in-Christ, and treasure their nuggets of wisdom that they’ve collected along their journey! We share a common goal — to glorify our Lord through our lives and hear Him say to us some day, “Well done, good and faithful servant, . . . come share your Master’s happiness.” God bless!
It is wonderful to have one good friend who will comfort in times of need, also that I can also succour. However, there is another friend who merely says that we have all got problems in our lives and is most indifferent – she is not a believer so this is probably the reason for her lack of understanding. It is very hurtful though as I have always tried to be there for her when she has shared things in the past.
Hi Patricia! I’m sorry that your unsaved friend does not offer much comfort during your times of difficulty! I think you are insightful to recognize that, not having the loving influence of the indwelling Holy Spirit to prompt her, she is acting in her own power, which may not naturally include a compassionate heart. Not all people are gifted with a compassionate and comforting spirit. Do not let her reactions to you discourage you, as they do not reflect on you, but on her unchanged heart. Continue to be an encouragment to her, dear Patricia, by the power of the Holy Spirit in you, letting our Lord fill in the gap of your unmet needs! You just never know how God may use you to be a witness for Him to her, that she might see His light in you, and long to share in the joy of your salvation! :)
Patricia;
keep planting seeds in your friends life, it may seem to you that you are getting nowhere but people truly do watch you and listen. Everyone does have struggles in this life, but it is our job as christians to react to problems in a diffrent way (I’m still a work in progress on this. Ha!) So keep on keeping on, let your light shine and pray that God will give you the words to help you lead your friend to him..
Suzanne, this is a very worthy topic you have us thinking about;
I had 2 older spiritual sisters who mentored me many years ago when I was lost and unlovely. They were patient and kind and just did not give up on me.
From this I grew to become a God loving & fearing woman who ended up on the mission field mentoring older teens and younger children.
Returning to Canada God has blessed me w/a # of faithful women who keep me challenged to spiritual growth and integrity.
I am a mentor to a # of women: one a young widow and mother to 4 young children; another a recent widow who is very lost; and I am befriending a gal who is bi-polar who says she has never had a friend before. God seems to bring people to me and this is the way it has worked for me for many years now.
I agree that we older women should be helping the younger women and it is my prayer more & more of us will step into this Biblical role.
Even to help out w/the children of these young women as in a ‘grand-parent’ role is a true blessing especially if the gals are single. This is where my husband also fits into the equation of ‘mentoring’ youngsters as a ‘grandpa.’
If we keep our eyes and spirits open we don’t have to look very far for someone to help grow and encourage to become all God wants them to be.
[…] Intentional Relationships Guiding people towards the […]
It is so good to read the encouraging remarks. I am praying that God will give me the opportunity to have these types of relationships in my life. I travel a lot and do not have established friends anymore.
Great devotional and great comments!!
Greetings Mara,
As life keeps you on the move I wonder do you have a ‘home base?’ If so I pray God will bring you a true God loving/honouring friend for as the word says, ‘it is better when there are two, for if one falls the other will help her up.’ And if you do not have a home base then I pray you will find at least one gal here on line who will fill this hole in your life.
As for your travel I do hope and pray God can create what has been called ‘divine appointments’ for you each and every day; be it with co-workers or others you meet each day.
May HE bless your travels as you seek HIM as your Lord and Saviour. Amen
Maia, how wonderful that you have clients in and out of your shop all day. What a powerful place to be planted on HIS behalf. I pray also that you find natural ways to share HIS power and love, HIS grace and mercy in your life in such a way that others will be drawn to HIM. I ask this for you in Jesus name. Amen
One way some of you may consider ‘mentoring’ would be to apply to become an On-line Mentor for the Truth Media.com, which is hosted by Power to Change [the former Campus Crusade].
I’ve been involved this way for almost 2 years now, maybe 2 1/2……It is a truly marvelous way to share Christ w/out even leaving home [thus good for those of us w/physical issues]. Just thot I’d throw that in for everyone to prayerfully consider [knowing that not all are called or perhaps are not free to give it a go].
My husband shocked the women at work in the Quality Assurance Office by stating one day that, I ‘complete him.’ They didn’t know how to handle a man speaking kindly of his wife……He was tired of how the women were into ‘male bashing’ all day. God has planted him in a war zone re: the world’s attitude toward the opposite gender and it is our prayer that as these gals work w/a godly man perhaps they will soften toward HIM, the God of our creation.
There are SO many ways in which we can encourage, comfort or urge someone on aren’t there. If we give each new day to HIM then we can look outward and pray to ‘catch’ those things HE places in front of us in which to do one or more of these things for HIS honour and glory! What a joyous way to go thru life, huh? Praise HIM and Hallelujah!