What a Monday! Talk about a dark and depressing day! This past Monday sure fell into that category! It seemed like no matter what I said . . . it was the wrong thing! It felt like everyone I talked to had a major crisis or serious problem they were dealing with. There was depressing news about people’s health, financial burdens, addictive behavior, etc. Some of my words meant to provide comfort and a spiritual blessing were twisted out of context and unappreciated. Add to this the stress I was feeling concerning the various lesson plans and sermon notes I needed to work on, plus two wedding ceremonies rapidly approaching, and it was a setting for trouble.
The morning was blown up when I got to the office and found out there would be no secretary to help cover the phones until later in the morning (unless you consider Philip a secretary—haha—By the way, Pam was sick and Sheri was out of town, so this is not an indictment against them, it is just the way this particular Monday happened to work out). After several interruptions due to phone calls, I could see this was not going to be a productive day. I still had a bulletin article to write and the ideas were not flowing (as you can probably tell). I tried to get involved in reading some material in preparation for my class on Acts, but my mind kept jumping to thoughts of people dealing with loved ones hurting or dying and other struggles going on in personal lives. My prayers felt cold and ineffective. It was just a bad morning!
Deeann called me to have lunch with her and I thought I better try to get something done, so I decided to isolate myself in my office and skip lunch. (Maybe I could get something done this way?) Unfortunately, that only resulted in my developing hunger pangs and a headache. My mood was going downhill fast! Not only that, but it also felt like the creator of time was playing this huge cosmic joke on me. Every time I would look at my watch, what seemed like 10 minutes had passed would be over an hour! Where was this day going?
One more interruption on the phone from a salesman and I was set up for it to happen. I had no warning that a stroke was on the way, but I sure recognized it when it happened! To be honest, it was two strokes within minutes of each other that pretty much changed my day. The first one was a message that said, “I love you!!! Remember, you are special!!” and the second one was a note of thanks and appreciation for some things I had said earlier. TWO STROKES of love and encouragement within minutes of one another! Oh, how that changed my day!!!
Perhaps, that is why the author of Hebrews writes the message he does in 10:24. It says, “ . . .and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds . . .” Who has God placed on your heart to pray for and send a message of encouragement? There are no doubt others who have had much worse days than the one I just described and could sure use a stroke to carry them through! Will you be a resource for God this week to lift up someone else and help them feel appreciated? Go ahead—take time to make someone’s day. When they get over the shock, they may even pass on what they have received!
Click to listen to sermon.
-Scott
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