The Power of Encouragement

KK: “You know, JJ, you really ought to turn up for this Tuesday Group meeting I’ve been telling you about.”

JJ: “uh-huh…”

KK: “Yeah, one thing about the people there, when it comes to worship, they want the real thing. And that is what I know you can bring them.”

I was in Kenneth Koh’s car when we had this conversation. (If you are familiar with the people from the Tuesday Group, you know that this is the Kenneth who would NEVER be accused of having long, greasy hair).

At that point of time in my life, I was tired and weary, feeling quite hard-pressed on every side. I had gone 2 years in the wilderness, worn-out even at the thought of returning back to the worship scene.

The last thing I wanted to think about was any form of worship ministry whatsoever.

Did I lose my anointing during that period? Hardly. There were occasions when I led worship for a small group here and there, and ALWAYS received rave reviews. But I was settled in my thinking, comfortable with things exactly the way they were.

Hebrews 3:13 “…encourage each other daily, while it is called “Today”, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”

Sin – harmatia, Strong’s #266: Missing the mark.

That was what happened to me. I was hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, of falling short of what God intends. Nobody could say that I was doing anything wrong (playing in pubs, teaching classical piano, doing training here and there), but I fell short of pursuing the ministry that God called me to, to lead worship AND teach others to do the same.

So what broke the hardening of my heart? Encouragement.

Looking back, I see now how God orchestrated opportunities for me to receive encouragement. Snatches of conversations with other people, culminating in that turning point in Kenneth Koh’s car, finally broke all the hardness of heart I had when it came to worship ministry and pursuing the calling of God in my life.

As a side point, it was most likely the overwhelming flood of DIS-couragement that caused me to finally burn out two years before and leave the ministry. Hmmm….

Now, I could have chosen to not listen to Kenneth Koh at that time. I could have used all the excuses I used before to keep things exactly the way they were.

“You don’t understand.” “You don’t know what it’s like.”

I used to think that the only people who could tell me what to do were those who had gone through exactly what I had gone through. That was a deadly mistake.

Proverbs 14:10 “The heart knows its own bitterness, and a stranger does not share its joy.”

Being totally logical, the only people who will know exactly what I’ve gone through are those who have gone through ALL the experiences that have shaped me as a person, and in exactly the same way and is NOW facing the identical situation I am facing now.

Now that just ain’t gonna happen. And if by some supernatural miracle I meet such a person, all that shows is that this person isn’t any smarter than I am, or he won’t end up with exactly the same problems as I have. “If the blind leads the blind…”

Can you imagine a person undergoing a heart attack insisting that he will receive CPR ONLY from a person who has experienced a heart attack before, because only such a person will know what it’s like to have a heart attack? Does a person HAVE to undergo a heart attack before he/she knows how to administer CPR?

There was once when I was fellowshipping with this sister from Tuesday Group. And she told me that the way I spoke of my wife at that time was wrong.

If I wasn’t teachable, I could have said “you don’t understand, you don’t know what it’s like…”

And why should I listen to her? She wasn’t me, married to my wife, undergoing all the same experiences I went through. So of course she wouldn’t know what it was like.

She was no relationship expert, I mean, she wasn’t a trained psychologist or counselor.To top it all off, she herself was emotionally volatile, and had problems relating with her own mother. She didn’t even show much fruit in this area of her life. Who was she to tell me I was wrong?

But at that moment she spoke forth the wisdom of God. I could take refuge in my excuses, or I could take heed to the wisdom of God in her words. I chose to take the wisdom of God to heart.

I share the above story not to boast of how smart I am, but to show you the excuses and self-deception that can take place when a person is hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. I did the right thing that time. Only God knows how many times I flopped all the times before.

So when you take that step of obedience, seek out that sibling in Christ that God has laid in your heart and begin to encourage him/her to rise up to his/her calling and high destiny in Christ, don’t be surprised or disappointed if you don’t meet with an immediately enthusiastic response. Or you run into the same excuses I used myself.

Just recognize that your encouragement is a powerful force, and it is the weapon God has ordained to overcome the deceitfulness of falling-short. Use it, as we are taught in God’s word. Remember, in due time we will reap a harvest if we don’t give up!

Prayer time: Pray with me that I will hear God clearly as I continue to refine and tweak my marketing efforts. I am looking at a large change in my ministry, and I need wisdom to handle all the details.

Be blessed!