My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
| 189 |
| GOD OF ENCOURAGEMENT |
| Romans 15:5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus |
| The apostle Paul is wrapping up his greatest treatise on the gospel, a letter written in a jail cell to saints he has never seen, having provided glimmers of truth expressed in letters to other churches, but in this letter, he holds nothing back. He expresses the truth of the gospel clearly, directly, boldly and without any hesitation. He voices the most difficult arguments the enemies of the gospel provide, and then openly proceeds to demolish them with Scripture, logic and reasoning. He takes us through character studies, such as Abraham and David, speaking of foreshadowing’s of the gospel, of truths that lead one to see the root of the Old Testament to flower into the beauty of the New Testament. Now, as he proceeds to close this letter, he describes God in four ways. God is the.. God of Encouragement 15:5 God of Endurance 15:5 God of Hope 15:13 God of Peace 15:33 Our name of God to consider today is God is the God of Encouragement. To be encouraged is to be strengthened, comforted, motivated and even exhorted. The Greek term is παράκλησις paráklēsis, and it literally means a “calling to one’s side” Para = beside Kaleo = to call To be encouraged is to be given strength. It is a spiritual transfer of strength, mainly through some form of communication from one who has went through a similar experience. The transfer of strength is not a zero sum condition, meaning that the strength received is equal to the strength given. Let me put that another way. If I am encouraged by my son in some area of my life, he doesn’t walk away discouraged in similar measure. Typically to encourage someone actually provides a similar effect on the giver. It is a win win situation! It may be applied in times of grief, when life is difficult and loss may be the only experience we are walking in. God is the God of Encouragement. This very name speaks of the reality of grief and loss in the believers life, and that due to this experience, we can know of God’s encouragement It may be applied in times of weakness, when we have given all we have, or we are experiencing a time of hopelessness, when there is no obvious upside in our thinking, when all feels dark and without meaning. God is the God of Encouragement. Again this name of God infers the Christians very real experience of weakness, hopelessness and loss of meaning. At times when we go through valleys, whether mentally, physically, emotionally or spiritually, we can run to the Father, knowing that He is One that is a strengthener, an encourager, an advocate for the believer. This strength is provided for a specific purpose, as the verse above states. Encouragement from God is intended to provide the strength to live in harmony with one another in the church, in the manner Christ Jesus would desire, in unity and peace with one another. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus Please do not think this verse relates only in our relations to those in the church, that is, that God only provides encouragement in order to have harmony in the church. No, I am convinced God can provide encouragement to His people every minute of the day as they seek His Son and look to follow Him. For you see, God Himself is our Helper, our parakletos (a derivative noun of our word we are considering), even as we walk on this earth. He is the One who is called to our side, to aid us in following Him. John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. We surely do not deserve such a loving, helpful, strengthening encouraging God as we have in Jesus. May His name be lifted up as we look to Him, and as we look to Him, may we find that His encouragement makes each of us people of encouragement. |
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
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One response to “Names of God – GOD OF ENCOURAGEMENT – 189”
My favorite is Abba, Father …Galatians 4:6- and thinking about the meaning in the original language.
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