The Gift of Encouragement

Hey friends, I'm glad that you've joined us for today's encouragement from the Our Daily Bread devotional.

Our reading today titled, The Gift of Encouragement, was written by James Banks. Your bees are swarming. My wife stuck her head inside the door and gave me news no beekeeper wants to hear. I ran outside to see thousands of bees flying up from the hive to the top of a tall pine, never to return. I was a little behind in reading the clues that the hive was about to swarm.

More than a week of storms had hampered my inspections. The morning the storms ended, the bees left. The colony was new and healthy, and the bees were actually dividing the colony to start a new one. Don't be hard on yourself, an experienced beekeeper told me cheerfully after seeing my disappointment.

This can happen to anyone. Encouragement is a winsome gift. When David was disheartened because Saul was pursuing him to take his life in 1 Samuel 23, Saul's son Jonathan encouraged David. Don't be afraid, Jonathan said. My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this. Those are surprisingly selfless words from someone next in line to the throne. It's likely Jonathan recognized that God was with David, so he spoke out of a humble heart of faith. All around us are people who need encouragement.

God will help us help them as we humble ourselves before him and ask him to love them through us. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is taken from 1 Samuel chapter 23 verses 14 through 23. David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands. While David was at Horesh in the desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God.

Don't be afraid, he said. My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this. The two of them made a covenant before the Lord. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh. The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshiman? Now, your majesty, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for giving him into your hands.

Saul replied, The Lord bless you for your concern for me. Go and get more information. Find out where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very crafty.

Find out about all the hiding places he uses and come back to me with definite information. Then I will go with you if he is in the area. I will track him down among all the clans of Judah. Let's pray. Dear God, you give us eternal encouragement and good hope. Would you help us to show your love and encouragement to someone else today? Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Wes Ward, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.