Front matter
SOME DAYS WE SOAR
Words of Encouragement for the Christian Life
By R. Herbert
2018, Tactical Belief Books – an imprint of TacticalChristianity.org & LivingWithFaith.org
The text and images in this e-book are copyright. All rights reserved. ISBN 978-1-942845-46-1 First published 2015. Second edition, revised and with new material, © 2018. This book is not to be sold. It is made available without charge by the publisher and free copies can be downloaded from: TacticalChristianity.org or LivingWithFaith.org. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. In a few cases, the ESV (English Standard Version ©), NASB (New American Standard Bible ©), and NKJV (New King James Version ©) are cited, and these translations are also gratefully acknowledged.
Cover: Bald eagle soaring in the Rocky Mountain high country. Image © by Larry Jacobsen.
CONTENTS
Introduction PART ONE: ENCOURAGEMENT IN ENDURING 1. Days We Soar ... and Days We Don't 2. Behind Life's Black Patches 3. An Unexpected Storm 4. The Ups and Downs of Life 5. Words for a Time of Persecution 6. He's Already There 7. Your Trials and God's Tests 8. The God Who Rejoices PART TWO: ENCOURAGEMENT IN GROWING 9. Does God Expect You to Be Perfect? 10. Weeds and Sins 11. The Growth We Don't See 12. In a Hurry to Be Patient 13. Being Encouraged by Our Discouragement
14. Built to Last 15. A Little Light Goes a Long Way 16. Why Settle for Second Place? PART THREE: ENCOURAGEMENT IN SERVING 17. A Gift Meant to Be Shared 18. Are You a "Son of Encouragement"? 19. Let Your Smile So Shine 20. Talking the Talk 21. What the Cavemen Learned
22. When Encouragement Works Best 23. How Many Times? 24. Greater Works than These Afterword: The Courage in Encouragement About Our Books
INTRODUCTION
When it comes to the Christian life – just as life in general – some days we soar, and some days we don't. To stretch the flight analogy a little further, some days it just seems hard to "get off the ground" or, perhaps worse, we start out "flying high" and end up in an ignominious crash landing. Those are the days we may appreciate encouragement if there is any around. Like a cool drink on a hot day, it doesn't make the problem go away, but it helps us deal with it. But some days, encouragement isn't easy to find.
This is a particularly important issue for the Christian because walking the walk of faith, despite its blessings and benefits, also brings additional challenges; and encouragement can sometimes be a vital part of spiritual life, rather than just a luxury. Even though encouragement doesn't get all the press some of the other biblical virtues (like faith, hope, and love) get, the Scriptures actually contain more direct commands to encourage one another than they do to be patient, or to care for others, or a host of other good things. In fact, the Bible has almost as many direct commands to "encourage one another" as it has direct commands to "love one another." So the biblical message is clear: encouragement is of primary importance, and Christians are supposed to encourage each other as well as anyone else who needs encouragement.
Nevertheless, there are not a lot of books that directly address the practical issues of how to encourage others and how to be encouraged oneself – and that is the reason for the book you are reading now. Some Days We Soar is a collection of short essays – some of them originating as blog posts on our websites, others written specifically for this volume – aimed at providing not only reasons for the Christian to be encouraged and to encourage others, but also some thoughts and guidance on how to accomplish those goals.
The book is divided into three sections corresponding with the three areas in which we perhaps most frequently need encouragement and wish to encourage others: enduring trials and difficulties, personal growth, and serving others.
Part One: Encouragement in Enduring deals with what is probably the greatest need for Christian encouragement: accepting, coping with, enduring and overcoming – all with God's help – the problems and trials that life seems to throw at us (Romans 15:4). Sometimes these may be catastrophic events that suddenly confront us; other times they may be much smaller repetitive problems that still wear us down if not handled effectively. There are no easy answers to all life's problems, of course, but we know that "…suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope…" (Romans 5:3-4 ESV).
Part Two: Encouragement in Growing looks at some of the ways in which we can be encouraged as we go through the "growing pains" of Christian life. The new Christian quickly finds that spiritual growth is not automatic. In order to even begin the process of being conformed to the likeness of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18), we have to strive for spiritual growth. This has nothing to do with laboriously seeking salvation through works, but simply our wanting to follow the biblical injunction to "grow in grace and knowledge" (2 Peter 3:18). As Christians we are privileged both to accept the righteousness of Christ on our behalf (Philippians 3:9) and still to walk obediently to the best of our ability (Romans 6:15). That's where we need encouragement to stay positive and to help others do the same in living out our lives with true peace and joy, while understanding that personal spiritual growth does not usually come quickly or easily.
Part Three: Encouragement in Serving is not about those times we are dealing with personal trials or spiritual growth, but when we are trying to serve and encourage others (1 Peter 4:10). In our interactions with others, we find a need for two kinds of encouragement – encouragement that we attempt to give to others and, if we are honest, encouragement that we sometimes need ourselves as we strive to serve but suffer occasional doubts about our capabilities, about whether what we are doing is making a difference, or other issues. Serving isn't always easy, and encouragement is sometimes particularly needed in that area (Ephesians 6:7, etc.), just as much as we need it in dealing with trials or growth.
Ultimately, as Christians, the greatest encouragement we can have is one we should already be aware of – that in working with us, God is a God of encouragement (Psalm 10:17, Romans 15:5, 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, etc.). He encourages us, if we allow him, just as much as he urges us to encourage others. But encouragement may come to you in many different ways. We hope that this small book might be one of them.
PART ONE:
ENCOURAGEMENT IN ENDURING
"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope" (Romans 15:4).