Encouragement for the Prodigal
Finally, 2 Thessalonians 5:14, Paul tells us that there are 3 types of Daywalkers that need encouragement. I have been all of these at different seasons of my life and other seasons I have been called to be the encourager. Now we exhort you brethren warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted and uphold the weak, be patient with all.
1. The Unruly – He probably began with the unruly because of the first half of the passage, do not walk like those of the dark and do things that people of the dark do, in the dark (paraphrased vs. 7). The commands of God should be effectual restraints upon the fleshly passions of children of the light. However, there will be some unruly ones whose disposition is to break boundaries or leap over them. Those that disregard the restraint and neglect to hold back the will of the flesh. The unruly Daywalker is not referring to someone that sins, because we all fall short, we all sin. The unruly references one that professes to be a child of the light, yet walks regularly at night and doing what the children of the night do.
Paul instructs us to warn the unruly Daywalkers. We are called to admonish and reprove them; to give them notice of an approaching danger or caution them of the unrestrained behavior. We are encouraged to incite praiseworthy conduct in hopes of restoring other Daywalkers back into the light, back into a right relationship with God. Reproach is a form of encouragement.
Many of us may not want to admit that we had seasons of being unruly, I am ashamed to say that I have had a few unruly times myself. My dad used to say there was that one year when he was really worried about me. But the truth be told, God has grown me greatly through some of those dark seasons. Some years back, an older lady from my church came by my house one afternoon and she had wanted to talk with me about something. We sat in my living room and she told me of her concern for me and my kids. She had seen some bitterness in me and was starting to see some in my kids. I was at first a little offended and defensive, but I knew her heart was in the right place. I told her that I didn’t see it, but I would pray about it. I began a study on bitterness, which led to a study on meekness, forbearance and wow God took me down a rabbit hole that year. But it was a good rabbit hole, because He was holding a carrot of grace on the other end.
It takes courage and love for us to go to someone and look them in the eye to tell them that their heart may be hardened or that they are walking in the darkness instead in the light. We never know who God might use to set our feet back on the right path. Sometimes God gets creative when He delivers His words to an unruly child. Check out Numbers 22, see how God used a donkey to get the attention of an unruly rebellious prophet and speak truth that saved him from destruction. Consider this – words of truth in of themselves may be grace.
I am so thankful to have a friend that was willing to encourage me when I was unruly. Now, her words were not encouraging – But it led me down the path that allowed God to encourage my heart and restore me in a right relationship with Him. When someone admonishes us, then we have a choice to make. We either stay defensive or we seek an answer in the Word of God. We choose to stay unruly or surrender to God’s authority, which means that we have a willing heart to seek the truth; because we want to walk with the Lord on the day of our Lord’s return.
The flip side of that – When God lays words of truth on your heart, do you speak those words? Speaking truth to someone that doesn’t want to hear it is hard. We risk losing the relationship with someone we care about. I encourage you to take that risk, because the fear of the Lord is greater than the fear of man. Because we desire to see them in eternity with God.
Do you remember a season when you were a prodigal child? Do you remember a season when you walked daily and your heart wasn’t seeking God first? Do you remember a season when you were your own authority? Do you remember a season when you relied on your own understanding instead of God’s Word? God takes us as we are, but then He loves us enough to not leave us that way. I am so thankful that God never left me in my unruly seasons.
Glory be to God
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More on encourage, comfort and edify one another – The Fainthearted
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