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The Amish Voice 7
Have you ever felt like no one appreciates you
for who you are? Do you ever feel like you are
trying ever so hard to get ahead and yet no one
notices?
The feeling that no one cares and appreciates
you can get very discouraging and can lead a
person to question whether its worth living.
Jesus said in John 10:10:
...
I am come that they might have life,
and that they might have it more abun-
dantly.
At times, we may read Jesus’ statement and
think, “well, that may work for others, but it
sure doesn’t work for me.” In fact, you may
feel like you are living in a lifeless body that
wonders the earth from day to day, just wait-
ing to die and get it over with. Finances may
be difficult. Relationships between you and a
friend or spouse might be suffering. But deep
inside, you hope and pray that some day soon,
a miracle will take place and bam!, you’ll snap
right out of your discouragement and life will
be different.
My friend, chances are, things will not happen
that way. How they are today is probably how
they will continue to go unless you do some-
thing about it. Let me explain: There are seven
billion people walking the earth right now and
you and I cannot change one single person.
Not even one! The only person you can
change is ‘you’. That’s it.
I’ve found that most of the time when we are
discouraged and feeling beat up, it’s because
we have our eyes focused on self. In other
words, we keep having our own little pity
party. And we think to ourselves, “poor me”;
if only people would have to walk in my shoes
for one day, they would find out very quickly
how difficult my life really is.
I’ve also found out, when I get my eyes off
self and look toward others, I soon forget my
discouragement and miserable state. Consider
what Jesus said in Luke 6:38:
Give, and it shall be given unto you;
And then Jesus continues…
good measure, pressed down, and shaken
together, and running over, shall men
give into your bosom. For with the same
measure that ye use, it shall be measured
[back] to you again.
What Jesus is saying, if you want to live a life
of great abundance (an overflow of joy), you
have to give it out to others before it can be
given back to you. The more you give out the
more you get back.
If we judge, condemn and are unforgiving of
others—men and God will treat us the same.
If we do not judge and condemn others, but
rather forgive them, then God and most men
will not judge and condemn us; they will also
be forgiving.
So the question is, how much forgiveness, joy
and fulfillment do you want today?
You want a lot? Give a lot. You want little?
Give a little.
If you are wondering about ways to give, con-
sider the following:
We all know the power of congratulating
others.
Rewarding people with our praise is
one of the easiest and most powerful ways to
motivate others. Simple words of encourage-
ment can change a person’s life when given at
the right moment. Saying “Good Job” or
“That Looks Great” can encourage the other
person and make them want to want to try
harder to please you. Your positive comments
will also give them a much needed sense of
accomplishment for the hard work they have
invested.
My children are now in their twenties and
serving the Lord. One day, I asked them, what
is the one thing that caused you to continue
serving and living for the Lord? Well, they
said, “dad, you and mom knew how to encour-
age us along the way. Even when we made
mistakes, you still encouraged us with positive
words. You patted us on the back whenever
you had a chance, and you made us feel like
we were somebodies.”
To which I replied, “Wow! You mean patting
you on the back and saying, you did great job
meant that much?” “Yes”, they said, “it made
us more confident of ourselves as well as
helped us see God as One who loves us, even
when we made mistakes in life.”
What happens though, when no one gives
“You” that needed praise?
Who encourages
the encourager? Who tells the guy at the top
“Good Job”? Oftentimes, nobody does
this. Even a self-motivated person has a point
where they just need to hear someone say “I
appreciate what you are doing.” So what do
you do when those affirmations are few and
far between?
Encourage yourself!
David did that in 1
Samuel 30:6.
And David was greatly distressed; for
the people spake of stoning him, be-
cause the soul of all the people was
grieved, every man for his sons and for
his daughters: but David encouraged
himself in the LORD his God.
Maybe you’ve never had someone ready to
stone you, but there have probably been times
when you wondered if even your closest
friends cared for you.
David understood that this was one day when
encouragement from others was not going to
come. They were tired, discouraged, and let
down. He knew there was nothing he could
do or say that would cause them to appreciate
all he was trying to do for them. The only
thing left for David to do was to “Encourage
Himself”. The scriptures say he
“…
encouraged himself in the Lord his God.”
Wouldn’t it be something if we could know
exactly what he said or did to do this. What
were his words? Maybe he talked out loud to
himself, and said:
Don’t worry David, God’s got your
back. You’re doing a great job for the
Kingdom of God. Don’t be discour-
aged, the Lord knows where you’re at
right now.
These are things we might say to another per-
son to encourage them, so why not say them to
ourselves?
I confess, I talk to myself on occasion. Not
like a lot of people do, but rather to encourage
myself. A few years ago, I began to become
very discouraged when it seemed that no one
else seemed to appreciate the hard work and
tremendous accomplishment that I was experi-
encing. So, I began to do something that
might sound a bit strange to many people. I
began “patting myself on the back”. Serious-
ly, I literally patted myself on the back and
said to myself,
“Good job Joe. No one else
may notice what you just did, but I did and I
think you did a fantastic job.”
Pray for yourself.
Lay hands on yourself and
pray for yourself like you pray for oth-
ers. Should God not heal you, simply because
you are the one doing the praying?
The point is, be sure that you stay encour-
aged. Be sure that you stay blessed and
healed. Don’t do for others and let yourself
become beaten down. What you do for others,
do for yourself.
Stay encouraged!
Give Yourself a Pat on the Back
—by Joe Keim