Psalm 52:8b “I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.” (NIV)
Have you ever felt discouraged – like nothing is going right and no matter what you do it is never right or never enough? Do those feelings make you feel like you need a hug from someone who really loves you? We all have periods like that, but there is hope.
A topic I like to keep talking about is how God loves to bless us as His children. That can occur in so many different ways in our life – we just have to be watching for the blessings or we might miss them. I like to call them hugs from God.
God uses many different ways to give out his hugs. Sometimes it is through specific people, sometimes situations will change, and sometimes real, honest-to-goodness miracles occur that can only be explained as direct intervention by God himself. Whatever form they take, each and every situation is a hug from God directed right to you, personalized by the Creator of the Universe Himself. It does not get much more personal than that.
A few hugs we have received in our lives have included the following: Unexpected money to help with medical expenses that were piling up as tall as our ceiling, a new job eight hours after suddenly becoming unemployed, the generosity of family throwing over-the-top birthday parties for our kids, taking our dog to the vet, helping with yard work, a billboard flashing our family verse when we needed extra encouragement, a meal from a friend, and help with a garage sale to name but a few. Each and every one of those examples are hugs directly from God at just the right time at just the right level to keep encouraging or just providing unexpected but totally appreciated filling of our resources – emotional, financial, physical, or spiritual.
My challenge to you today is two-fold: I want you to look specifically this week for ways that God is giving you a hug and then please share those wonderful experiences with us in the comment section. And secondly, how can you help God hug someone else in your life, providing encouragement that someone else may desperately need? It might be a friend, a family member, the waiter at your favorite restaurant, or an employee at Meijer. I would love to hear you share about your chance to help hug someone else as well.