God is the Ultimate Encourager

One of the gifts that God has given me is a gift of exhortation. I enjoy encouraging people from all walks of life. As I have continually used my gift, I have found that when I face difficult times, when I have needed a lot of encouragement, God has become the ULTIMATE ENCOURAGER. No one can encourage you better than God can. NOBODY!

You may wonder how I arrived at this conclusion. Well, let me tell you what happened.

One evening I was in the kitchen cooking dinner for our family. We had our firstborn at the time, and we were expecting our secondborn. After I finished cooking dinner, I walked from the kitchen into the family room. Once I crossed the threshold into the family room, I suddenly felt nauseated, and I knew something had just happened to our unborn baby. I did not tell my husband what had just happened. As I lay in bed that night, in a fetal position, which I came to learn later was a sign of trauma, I cried softly, begging God to save our baby. I don’t know for how long I did this. When I woke up the following day and went to the restroom, I knew we had lost our baby. I finally told my husband, and we went to the Emergency Room. And that is what I call the nine longest hours that did not seem to come to an end. My husband and I sat quietly. Each of us lost in our thoughts.

In the days that followed, my husband dealt with our loss in his way. It was a learning process for me because I did not realize that when a husband and wife undergo a miscarriage, they each grieve differently. It took a short time for me but a long time for him.

There are two things I want to point out before I share how God encouraged me and why I say he is the ULTIMATE ENCOURAGER.

• I believe we will see our baby one day. He or she is in heaven
• God will not allow you to go through something then exit your life for you to deal with the challenging situation.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you.
When you walk through fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.

Isaiah 43:2 AMP

So, how did God encourage me? He encouraged me through his Word. And I will use that same revelation he gave me to encourage you regardless of what you are going through.

Daniel 3:16-18 (NKJV)

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.  But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

The three men knew that God was able to deliver them from the fire. However, it is possible that they did not know whether God would deliver them.

Sometimes we think that God will automatically move in a certain way. And that if he does not move that way, then we get disappointed at him and angry. The truth is, God, promises healing, deliverance, and restoration. But your story will not be like any other person’s story. I would have loved to say that God stopped the bleeding and saved our baby. But that was not the case. However, I can still testify that God healed me and gave us a son after our miscarriage. We named our son Ian which means God is gracious. When I look at him, I am reminded of the goodness of God.

Daniel 3:26-27 (NKJV)

Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.

The only thing that burned in that fire was whatever was used to bind them. The men did not smell like fire.

When you go through something, God will heal you, and you will not look like what you went through. Unless I tell you I had a miscarriage, you will not know if you see me today. I have so much joy, and it all comes from God.

Daniel 3:28 (KJV)

Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!

Because of their stand and refusal to buckle under pressure, the king recognized God’s power and ordered that only God should be worshiped.

Others will know God because of what you have been through and overcome. Once you stand and testify of his goodness, you have no idea how many lives you are touching. You are God’s vessel, and he can use you in the most remarkable ways.

After my experience, I realized that no one would have encouraged me as much as God did. And no one can encourage you as much as God can. God is the ULTIMATE ENCOURAGER!

Author: Martha Macharia