Skip to content

Grandma's Gleanings

  • Home
  • Welcome
  • Meet the Author

Grandma's Gleanings

Words and Thoughts from Grandma

Day One Hundred “The Roar of the Crowd”

November 18, 2019 by Cathy Winkle

        Preparations were well under way for the upcoming Christmas program, costumes had been prepared, songs memorized, promotional material distributed. The elementary children had worked on one specific selection with undeterred effort. It was one tough song, a medley of familiar tunes from Classical composers, all set in a Christmas fantasia highlighting the song, Deck the Halls. From September through December, those little ones strove toward perfection, struggling to learn all those difficult melodies, all while very few folks were aware of the effort they were expending. Then came performance night, and those young singers were awesome, definitely hitting a home run. But what happened afterward was amazing! The parents, grandparents, and guests in attendance, all part of that packed-out audience, cheered for those kiddos, a boisterous, thundering applause for the efforts they had witnessed. I could tell by the look on my somewhat shocked choir that they were surprised and encouraged by the response, as weeks of dedication and hard work melted away into a job well-done.

That simple story highlights an important truth in our Christian walk, we desperately need encouragement from one another. In the Faith Hall of Fame chapter of Hebrews, the writer has that specific purpose in mind as he reviews the lives of those outstanding Old Testament characters. He has a burden to remind his readers, those poor, persecuted Jews of the early church, that a huge crowd of believers had already run the race before them, and they had through faith, won the battle and savored the victory. This “so great a cloud of witnesses” knew both the suffering and the reward, and their example was to motivate these persecuted Jewish Christians to “run with patience the race set” before them.

        Many believers lie on the sidelines of this difficult race called the Christian life, discouraged by a seemingly hopeless assignment of walking by faith in a godless society. They desperately need some fortification from those who have been there, survived the struggles, rose above the trials, and triumphed, the likes of Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Joseph…and YOU. I’m reminded of the story of a shepherd boy, David, a man who was destined to be Israel’s greatest king. David had been faithful and loyal to his predecessor, King Saul, but due to Saul’s raging jealousy, David found himself on the run, under the constant threat of death, hiding “in the wilderness,” alone. Then help came from an unexpected source as “Jonathan, Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.” That simple act of encouragement would lift the countenance of this future king and help him over this difficult hurdle in his life.

        Someone out there in your sphere of influence needs their hand “strengthened” today. Their strength is waning, the depression is mounting, the urge to quit is overwhelming. A brother or sister in this great arena of believers needs to assure them that victory is close and that the battle is worth the fight. Could you take a moment today and cheer on a struggling believer, encourage a faithful pastor, share your love with a dear friend, compliment a teenager as they strive to live a godly life, or provide some company for a senior saint? YOU may be just what is needed to help that weary soldier get back into the race.

I Thessalonian 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

Lord, us me to encourage someone around me.  Help me to see through Your eyes and lift up a weary soldier, a tired sojourner, a worn-out sufferer.  Help me to display Your love and grace in their lives. 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
<div class='sharedaddy sd-block sd-like jetpack-likes-widget-wrapper jetpack-likes-widget-unloaded' id='like-post-wrapper-164683012-793-682ee98058f5b' data-src='https://widgets.wp.com/likes/?ver=14.5#blog_id=164683012&post_id=793&origin=grandmasgleanings.com&obj_id=164683012-793-682ee98058f5b' data-name='like-post-frame-164683012-793-682ee98058f5b' data-title='Like or Reblog'><h3 class="sd-title">Like this:</h3><div class='likes-widget-placeholder post-likes-widget-placeholder' style='height: 55px;'><span class='button'><span>Like</span></span> <span class="loading">Loading...</span></div><span class='sd-text-color'></span><a class='sd-link-color'></a></div>

Post navigation

Previous Post:

Day Ninety-Nine “Legos”

Next Post:

Day One Hundred One “Morning Chores”

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

Recent Posts

  • Bonked on the Bean!
  • The Dreaded Queue
  • The Parable of the Lily
  • “And Be Ye Kind…”
  • Appearances

Recent Comments

  • Nina Wright on Day One Hundred Seventeen “Earthen Vessels”
  • Cathy Winkle on Just An Old-Fashioned Hymn?
  • MaryEva Shever on Just An Old-Fashioned Hymn?
  • Cathy Winkle on Day Three Hundred Sixty-Five “Bucket List”
  • MaryEva Shever on Day Three Hundred Sixty-Five “Bucket List”

Archives

  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019

Categories

  • anger
  • driving
  • fear
  • Greeting
  • insomnia
  • Sacrifice
  • sweet savor
  • Uncategorized
  • wisdom

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 33 other subscribers
© 2025 Grandma's Gleanings | WordPress Theme by Superbthemes
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d