Longing for encouragement

I have always been captivated by the sense of hope that rises to the surface when someone reaches out to another human being with encouragement. We all thirst for the security of knowing that we are going to be alright... that we are going to survive this day and live it as we should... that we will respect ourselves at the end of the day and be able to have the respect of those closest to us. But, we live in a world that fights against us. We do have enemies, seen and unseen that are committed to stealing our security from us. Our hope lies in Jesus. He is waiting for us on the front lines of our own battle field. He is waiting there with encouragement and the power to make it through the day. Rob Bell said it this way, "We find God in our own oppression, in our own crying out, in our own response to the body of Christ broken for us, the blood of Christ poured out for us, and when we can't find God in our own oppression, we can always find God in the oppression of others." So, today I can set out to find encouragement from Jesus in the places of my life that feel oppressive to me. I am learning to "... share in his sufferings in order that I may share in his glory" (Romans 8:17).