Be of Good Courage
They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage. – Isaiah 41:6
The day’s activities had pushed me to the limits of my endurance. Housecleaning, answering the phone, providing a taxi service, and sorting through
piles of laundry were just a few of the time-consumers that tore into my day. The final straw came when I returned from shopping expecting things
at home to look somewhat like I had left them. When I walked in, the state of the house resembled a volcanic eruption. Struggling to make dinner,
I fought off tears of frustration. When everyone had been fed, I sat down to catch my breath.
A few minutes later, I went back to cleaning up the kitchen and began quietly talking to God about how I felt. While I was working, my daughter came
in and handed me a note she had written. I did not open it right away, but when I did, a feast for my soul lay between the borders of that white
piece of paper! Her words of praise were directed straight from her heart to mine. Her loving sentiments encouraged and built me up. What touched
me most, however, was the part where she had written, “You always bring immense amounts of love into a room just by entering it.” After the way
I had felt, I was amazed that any love had shown through my disposition. My soul was refreshed and restored by my daughter’s written words of kindness.
As Christians, we will have days of exhaustion and irritation just as others do, but the Lord, in His love and mercy, does not walk away from us during
these times. No, He walks beside us, loving us and bringing comfort to our weary hearts. Many times, His love comes our way through the heart and
hands of one of His servants. No matter how the Lord gives it, it is His special way of saying, “I love you,” “You are precious to Me,” and, “I
will be with you.”
May we strive to be like the people we read about in the Book of Isaiah who helped their neighbors and who said, “Be of good courage.”