4 Ways to Encourage Yourself Today

Encouragement

Apr 13

If you are like me, your emotions can rollercoaster up and down in a matter of minutes (sometimes seconds), but sometimes get stuck in the down position.

The everyday demands of life can drag us down if we are not careful.

We love our spouse, kids, the Lord, our families, neighbors, etc. but all the demands on our time can leave us can feeling overwhelmed at times.

I believe this one reason God tells us in Proverbs 4:23, Above all else, guard your heart, everything you do flows from it (NIV).

Not convinced?

The ESV says “keep your heart with all vigilance”.

It sounds like we should pay attention.

In Scripture, many times the heart refers to our inner being from which come all our thinking, feeling, and choices – basically our life. When our heart is in the right place, we will be able to think clearly and rationally.

Our inner being is also where the Holy Spirit resides and we are admonished not to quench Him. Having a “healthy heart” allows the Spirit to move freely in our lives and for us to live from a place of love - for ourselves and others.

We can unintentionally quench the Spirit, and therefore get stuck in the down position if we get bogged down by:

Busyness
Unforgiveness
Condemnation
Complaining
Covetousness

To keep ourselves encouraged and the Holy Spirit free to move, try these four ways:

Encourage yourself with grace

One of the quickest ways to a hard heart is to allow the pressures of life to overwhelm me. If I am behind on my to-do list, my time with the Lover of my Soul gets cut short and feels perfunctory and harried.

I become snappy and impatient as my self-made suffocation slowly takes hold.

Then I realize it is time to stop, take a step back and reevaluate. It is okay to take a few things off our plates, delegate, or say no when needed.

We were never meant to live like this. Jesus gives us grace and we should give it to ourselves - and others as well.

Encourage yourself with words

Our words have tremendous power. Proverbs tells us the tongue has the power of life and death, healing, and destruction. We may be tempted to speak what we feel which isn’t wrong as long as we are speaking the truth more.

We plant seeds when we speak, both inside of us and those listening. We water our words with more words and they are nurtured, grow, and take root. If I am complimented once, it is appreciated for the moment but most likely soon forgotten.

But if I am complimented repeatedly, as my husband does, it is reinforced and I start to believe it! Our minds are transformed as Romans 12:2 says. The converse is also true. Negative messages can get stuck in our minds. That is why it is so important to combat – and overcome – the lies, whether in thought or word, with the spoken truth over ourselves and others repeatedly.

Encourage yourself with forgiveness

Ephesians 4:32 tells us to forgive as Christ forgave us. Ouch! Why would God ask such a difficult thing of us? Because it is the best thing for our hearts. We probably all know harboring unforgiveness only makes us miserable, not the offender.

This is one I have struggled with off and on for many years. In an effort to keep my heart soft, I pray for whoever has hurt me when they come to mind. If I am having an especially hard time forgiving, the Spirit quickly reminds me Jesus was tortured and died for my sins as well as for others’.

If Jesus didn’t withhold forgiveness from me, I have no right to withhold forgiveness from others - or myself.

Encourage yourself with kindness

“Just Be Kind” signs dot my local area. Kindness comes from God and is another one of the amazing attributes He blesses us with over and over again. When we are kind to one another, everyone feels better.

So why do we find it so hard to be kind to ourselves? I believe it is partly due to the sometimes-harsh world we live in. If we are kind to ourselves, it may leave us more vulnerable to criticism by those who do not understand or care.

I find myself believing if I’m kind to myself I might just become a lazy sloth who never gets anything done and then what will people think?

Most likely no one will even notice because they are busy with their own lives and concerned about their own appearance. I am a big advocator of kindness to oneself through self-care.

Now I’m off to practice what I preach!

What keeps you encouraged or what do you struggle with?