Encourage-[en-kur-ij] to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence.
The enCourage Blog is weekly dose of encouragement in a world that is often filled with bad news. We offer life-giving entries each Monday and Thursday written by gifted women from across our denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). You can subscribe below to have them delivered to your inbox. With hundreds of blog pieces, you can search on a variety of topics in the search bar above to read and share with friends. Christina Fox, a gifted author, serves as our enCourage General Editor. If you are interested in submitting a piece, you can contact her at cfox@pcanet.org.
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Resting in the Unknown
LYDIA PINONTOAN | GUEST I’m coming out of one of those life stages when “How are you?” feels like a complicated question. From the outside, strangers and acquaintances might get the idea that our life is picture perfect. We’re happily married with an adorably precocious 18-month-old, a well-providing job, a beautiful home, and wonderful friends. But what they can’t see is the hidden loss, both personally and in our community, that we just can’t escape. They don’t see the questions swirling in my mind and wafting their way up to the Lord. So, when they say, “How are you?” usually my answer is, “We’re doing alright.” Yet I know that God sees the depths of my heart. He hears the questions, and though He may not always provide the specific answers I’m looking for, He always provides the comfort I need. Recently, that comfort has been conveyed through the poetry of the Psalms, particularly Psalm 131, as God has reminded me in my frustration with the unknown that I don’t need to know everything. Or more accurately, I should not know everything, because, by His good design, God is the all-knowing Creator, and I am the little-knowing creature. A Song of Ascents. Of David. O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 131:1-3)...
Hope and Lament in Suffering
JULIANNE ATKINSON |GUEST A man with no home to call his own was discharged from the emergency department after a cardiac event. He was no longer in critical condition and had outstayed his financial capabilities at the hospital. The homeless mission couldn’t provide appropriate recovery care with no medical staff and was unable to responsibly care for him overnight. That Alaskan winter night, he passed away on a church’s steps waiting for the doors to open in the morning. The despair of wondering how this could have happened spread like a contagion at the rescue mission. Sorrow and guilt mingled under the surface of every conversation. There were so many aspects to mourn and grieve. Navigating Suffering in this World If you’re in ministry laboring in the harvest, you are always close to deep suffering. You’ve seen financial reversals, cancer diagnosis, abuse victims, and mental illness. You may have watched those desperate for approval, with a desire to live in sin, lead them to leave the faith in a wake of destruction. You’ve likely known those with regretted sins that still plague them many years down the road. The enemy would have us isolated in our suffering, but Scripture does not allow that option. In 2 Corinthians 6 Paul describes the true Christian life leading through pandemonium and crucible to address a prosperity gospel being peddled as the gospel of Christ....
Freedom in Christ
CHRISTINE GORDON | CONTRIBUTOR Some good friends of mine host a BBQ to celebrate the 4th of July every year, only they have it on the 3rd. Why? They know families gather on the 4th to eat hot dogs, watch fireworks, and do other American celebratory things, and they think the great freedoms we enjoy are worthy of more than one night of festivities. Hence, another party. They love the United States. So do I. I’ll never forget standing in Tiananmen Square in Beijing one summer with a group of Chinese English students. As we slowly walked across the square, I asked them what it was like to stand where such a tragic event had taken place. “What event?” they asked me. These, the brightest and best of their generation, did not enjoy access to their own history as I did in my country. Suddenly the limits of their freedom were frighteningly clear. I closed my mouth and changed the subject, afraid for their safety if anyone heard me explaining the massacre that had taken place. As Americans, we’ve come to expect many types of freedom. We expect to worship without fear of government involvement or regulation, to speak our minds, and fill our Substacks as we wish. Flags fly in our schools and from our porches to remind us of our privileges: freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. But American freedom is not the same as biblical freedom....
New Life New Purpose
ALLISON VAN EGMOND | GUEST So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him (2 Cor. 5:9). There have been times in my life when I longed for my earthly future. I remember longing to start high school, to move out of my parent’s house, to find a husband, and to have kids. In nearly every phase of my life, I have had my eye toward what comes next. These days, as my kids get older, I’m also starting to long for the past. I remember when they were snuggly babies who would sleep on my chest, when our days were filled with tutus and toy swords, and when we would spend hours at the playground with friends. When my Facebook memories pop up and show old pictures and videos of my kids, I can’t help but grieve a little for those years that are long gone. I also find myself longing for the body of my youth. As the wrinkles and grey hairs start to become more prevalent, and as my aches and pains increase, there are visible and physical reminders that my body is “wasting away,” as Paul says in chapter four of 2 Corinthians. Looking to a Heavenly Future As humans, we often long for what we don’t have, whether it is something we want in our future, or the life we once had in the past. We can struggle to be content in the present....
Asking Better Questions of Your Bible
HANNAH HAGARTY | GUEST In the life of a believer, “What should I read today?” is a common question when it comes to Scripture. Often, we answer that question based on feelings. What do we feel like reading? What do we feel applies to the situation we are walking through? Feelings are real, necessary, and Scripture addresses them, but there is a better way to begin. Because, inevitably, the day will come when we don’t feel like reading. If feelings are the motivating metric, we won’t. A better approach to reading and studying Scripture is to begin with Spirit-led understanding by asking good questions of the text. Many Christians have been taught that the first question in response to reading Scripture is, “what does this mean to me?” But when application comes before understanding, we risk trading Scripture’s richness for whatever feels relevant at the moment. Asking Questions Whether we are children learning about our world or an adult learning a new skill, the means of understanding come through the same route: asking questions. This is why Bible study books often include a few questions at the end of each chapter. It is not enough just to read the Bible; we need to meditate or think about the text in order to absorb it. Questions bring us to this beneficial, deeper reflection....
The Daily Deaths We Die
ELLEN DYKAS | CONTRIBUTOR I died again this week. I walked through the gospel truth that, “We who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.” (2 Cor. 4:11–12). Yet, death never has the last word for the believer! Mysteriously and beautifully, the deaths and resurrections we experience day after day manifest the reality of our risen Savior’s presence in our lives (2 Cor. 4:7–10). A friend and I had unspoken expectations, stressors which were unknown to the other, and a common enemy eager to accuse, divide, and distract. These realities co-mingled until we mutually felt hurt, disappointed, and a little bit defensive. Guarded and frustrated (me), disheartened and unsettled (her), we managed our way through lunch with others present, hugged, said goodbye, and that was it. Except it wasn’t. I stewed, mused on the offense, couldn’t shake the distressing feelings which emerge when relationships go south. Thoughts tumbled in my mind and I rehearsed what happened, rehearsing how I felt wronged....
