Being a mother is an awesome privilege and a great responsibility. NIV Psalm 113:9 He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD. God wants Moms to be happy mothers of children. To be a happy mother, you’ve got to have a sense of humor. We don’t live in a perfect world, and even if we did, the kids would mess it up in short order.
Some elementary school children were asked the following questions about Moms: Why did God make mothers? She’s the only one who knows where the Scotch tape is. Mostly to clean the house. To help us out of there when we were getting born. How did God make mothers? He used dirt, just like for the rest of us. Magic, plus superpowers and a lot of stirring. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts. What ingredients are mothers made of? God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean. They had to get their start from men’s bones. Then they mostly use string, I think. Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom? We’re related. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people’s moms like me.
If you’re a mother here today, God wants you to be happy. One of the great things about how God made mothers, is that He made them to be encouragers. Mothers are great encouragers of their children. So today I’ve entitled my message “Being An Encourager.” I’d like to talk about how mothers can become even better encouragers and how they can encourage themselves. But I’m not just talking to mothers this morning. I hope that all the Dads will also put these principles into practice and learn how to be better encouragers of their wives. Rather than criticize and pinpoint other’s faults, each of us can learn to be an encourager.
And do you know who the greatest encourager is? It’s God Himself. We can learn from God how to bring out the best in others, how to be an encourager. Today we’re going to look at how God encouraged a new leader in Israel named Joshua. From this passage I’m going to draw out some ways to encourage others and bring out the best in them. And if you’re feeling discouraged this morning, you can apply them to your own life first and then share them with someone else.
To hear more about this topic, listen to my May 13, 2007 message entitled Being An Encourager