Back in November, my wife and I were in NYC for her birthday. Unbeknownst to us, the NYC marathon was taking place that day and as we walked around, we stumbled upon the home stretch! As men and women ran by us on their way to the finish line we could see the physical pain they were experiencing. Their faces scrunched, bodies sweaty and arms swinging back and forth to propel them forward. To make things even harder, the last stretch had a bit of an incline to it. Even though it was only slight, after 25 miles it might as well have been the face of a mountain. This was made even more evident when the wheelchair racers went by. Some of them, losing momentum, would slow to a crawl and nearly stop at the crest of the hill. When this happened, the spectators would roar with encouragement, “Come on! Keep going. Push! You’ve got this!” It was such a simple exchange, but one with a powerful lesson: when we encourage, we are actually giving away courage that enables others to face their battle and keep moving forward.
Think about it. These racers are spent–absolutely, dog tired. At many times in the race, I’m sure they’ve questioned why they were even participating. They’ve probably even wanted to quit. However, in some of those moments, they heard someone tell them to keep going. At once, they felt an ability to dig deeper than they thought possible. They received courage to face their battle and move forward.
Imagine a race without spectators. How many runners would quit or stop if no one was watching? Or think about your workouts. Do you cheat a few reps here and there or make it a “light” day at the gym because no one is watching? Exactly. Sometimes we need a friend to give us courage to fight through our challenges.
Right before Jesus was crucified, He gave His disciples a promise. In John 14:16 He said, “And I [Jesus] will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever…” This advocate that Jesus is referring to is the Holy Spirit. When looking at the original text, the word for advocate is the Greek word paraklētos which literally means “one called to the side of another; a comforter; a counselor; an encourager”. In other words, the Holy Spirit’s mission is to give us courage to face the challenges of life forever!
Do you need courage today? Do you feel like you can’t move forward anymore? Do you have a huge mountain in your way that is giving you fear and anxiety? Be encouraged because the Holy Spirit comes to your aid to give you an abundance of courage!
Be blessed.
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