Encouragement

There is a point where the strongest man can be brought low by discouragement. When people are brought to this point, for whatever reason, they can either accept the fact that they need God, or they can continue in their self-pity, or cover it up with worldly pursuits. Encouragement comes from the Hand of God working in our lives, but often God works through you and I, ministering in the person's life. So we need to remember that there are certain people in this world that need our support.
To list a few, there are...

1.Fellow Christians and missionary's around the world.

Hebrews 13:3: “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.” The Christian missionary's all over the world have to deal with local governments restricting Christianity and the importation of Bibles, but still they keep reaching out towards the non-believer. Many times they will be cut off from their family communicationally, and have will have very little contact with friends, or even Christians. A good organization to look into that supports missionary's over the world is Voice of the Martyrs.

2.Your nation's soldiers.

America has soldiers all over the world, and some soldiers have no family connections. Others will be away from home maybe for several years. They will endure both physical and spiritual attacks from their enemy. Some, when they come home, will have post-traumatic stress syndrome, or they might be frightened with firecrackers, or just have lots of bad dreams. I don't know of that many soldier friendly organizations, but it would be a good thing to check out

3.Your neighbor.

Romans 15:2: “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.”
But you might be wondering “encourage in what? What are we encouraging these people in? Just to be happy people?” My answer is no. We are to encourage our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord in their walk with the Lord, and to show the non-believers, in love, that they need the Lord.

Eccles. 4:9-10: "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!"

I'll tell a story about a man with Operation Mobilization named Don Nichols. He went to India in 1967, and contracted TB just after arriving, and he decided to go to the local, government-run sanitarium. He wasn't able to speak their language yet, and had tried to give out tracts and literature in their language to the patients, doctors, and nurses. But everyone refused.
The first few nights I woke up around 2 a.m., coughing. One morning during my coughing spell, I noticed one of the older and sicker patients across the aisle trying to get out of bed. He would sit up on the edge of the bed and try to stand, but in weakness would gall back into bed. I didn't understand what he was trying to do. He finally fell back into bed exhausted. I heard him crying softly.
The next morning I realized that he had been trying to get up and walk to the bathroom! The stench in our ward was awful. Other patients yelled insults at the man. Angry nurses moved him roughly from side to side as they cleaned up the mess. One nurse even slapped him. The old man curled into a ball and wept.
The next night I again woke up coughing. I noticed the man across the aisle again trying to stand. Like the night before, he fell back whimpering. I don't like bad smells, and I didn't want to become involved, but I got out of bed and went over to him. When I touched his shoulder, his eyes opened wide with fear. I smiled, put my arms under him, and picked him up.
He was very light due to old age and advanced TB. I carried him to the washroom, which was just a filthy, small room with a hole in the floor. After he finished, I picked him up, and carried him back to his bed. As I laid him down, he kissed me on the cheek, smiled, and said something that I could not understand.
The next morning another patient woke me and handed me a steaming cup of tea. He motioned with his hands that he wanted a tract.
As the sun rose, other patients approached me and indicated that they also wanted the booklets I had tried to distribute before. Throughout the day nurses, interns, and doctors asked for literature.
Weeks later an evangelist who spoke the language visited me and discovered that several had put their trust in Christ as a Savior as a result of reading the literature.
What did it take to reach these people with the gospel? It wasn't health, the ability to speak the language, or a persuasive talk. I simply took a trip to the bathroom.

Encouragement comes in many different forms. Let your life be one that incites others closer to God.