A Note of Encouragement

from Ciloa

Silhouette of a man looking into a starry night

God longs to be encouraged by His
children, as we also long to be
encouraged by our Father.

The Need Within

Volume XVI, Issue 38
September 19, 2016

I remember the day clearly. September 11, 2001. The day terrorism came to American soil in a very big way. Thousands were killed. Many others died trying to help the wounded and frightened.

I had just finished meeting a client at my office near Atlanta, Georgia. The floor manager rushed in the conference room. "You've got to leave...NOW!" Someone had called, claiming to have planted a bomb in the 4-story building.

We hurried out of the room, down the stairs, and into a rapidly filling parking lot. I tried calling my wife but all cell phone service in the area had been shut down. So I made my way home and there discovered the horror occurring in New York City and Washington, DC.

I remember something else. That evening I looked into the night sky. Clouds floated against a silent backdrop of twinkling stars. Not far away was the busiest airport in the world. The sky was always filled with air traffic coming and going. But that night the sky was clear.

No blinking lights. No faint roar of jet engines. Nothing. Then I noticed I had not heard the clattering of the trains which often traveled along the rails close to our home or the movement of cars on a nearby highway. No sound at all. Just silence. And I felt very, very alone.

I recall that day whenever I see people gripped in pain or sorrow or grief...hear them cry in anger or fear or confusion...feel them tremble in weakness or shake with rage or shiver from rejection. And I know---within their hearts, minds, and souls---a deep loneliness grows ever stronger.

In Ciloa we see, hear, and interact with these people every day. And these people are not some statistical group. We...we are these people, too. We all are these people. And at some point, even within a crowd, we will experience a loneliness that is real and deep and personal.

I still question God for the why of our sorrows and tragedies. Sometimes I understand, sometimes I don't. But I've found that He routinely answers by telling me what I must do from that point...what words I can offer...what actions I can take...what compassion I can share.

It all points to a need...a special need we share in common...a need we share even with God. Not a need as in something that is lacking, but rather a longing, a desire. God made us in His image¹, a reflection of His nature which has this same longing and desire.

But what could this need be? We know He longs for us to come to Him and love Him. But what is the shared need that we have with Him, and He with us? What need goes to His and our pain, sorrow, and grief? What need can heal the wounds caused by loneliness?

We share the need for encouragement. God longs for encouragement. We long for encouragement. And not encouragement as the world offers...urging, demanding, enticing, pressuring. But Biblical encouragement---coming alongside, standing with, being there, not abandoning or forsaking.

God longs for us to come by His side, take our stand with Him, and never abandon or forsake Him. We have the same longing every time we are hurt, afraid, confused...every time we feel utterly alone. We need encouragement from our Heavenly Father, and we need encouragement from others.

Perhaps encouraging one another² is more important than we thought.

Take care & be God's,

Chuck

1. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27, NIV

2. Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today. Hebrews 3:13a, NIV

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