¶ Welcome to Encouraging Podcast
Well , hey great , You're enjoying the 5-Minute Encouraging Podcast . If you need more encouragement at the end of this 5 minutes , you can always listen to Virginia's Home for Encouragement WPER . If you're outside that listening area , download the app and find it . Where you get your apps , Just search WPER . Thank you for hitting pause in this noisy world .
We're glad you pressed play
¶ Acknowledging The Emotional Heaviness
today .
Yeah , we are , whether you're sitting in a stuffy room , walking through the sweltering heat or just emotionally worn down , this moment , well , it's for you . So first let's breathe right , inhale and exhale .
There you go , a little breathing exercise . It is hot , yeah , summertime , yeah , heavy , and some days , especially like this now , it feels like the world could be pressing down on you , not just from the sun , but from the inside out .
Yeah , and you might feel tired for no reason . Might even be a little extra cranky , maybe you're just totally unmotivated and , like you know where the smallest task just feels like a complete mountain right now . We're where the smallest task just feels like a complete mountain right now .
We're going to tell you a truth You're not weak , you're definitely not lazy and you are not broken . Surprise , you're human and know this
¶ Small Victories Matter
you're not alone .
No , you're not , and you know this kind of weariness doesn't always have a neat explanation for any of us .
Yeah , this is the kind of tired that like it settles into your bones right , it's mental , it's emotional , it's spiritual and in the heat of the summer that kind of feels like it can sneak in like a fog , and then suddenly you're not just hot but you're hopeless .
Here's what we want you to hear today , clearly and deeply .
This season won't last forever , and neither will this feeling .
Yeah , you know those might sound like just a bunch of words and maybe you've heard that before , but it's true .
Yeah , think back .
¶ Hope Lives in Small Corners
Think back because there have been days before today , days you thought you wouldn't make it through , but you're still here . You made it . You kept going , even when you didn't feel brave . You were because God helped you through the day , and maybe today the only brave thing you can do is just keep breathing and look . That's okay , that's enough .
Yeah , and on days like this , when you think about it , it's the small victories that matter more than ever .
Oh , if you got out of bed today , victory . If you drank some water today , victory . Yep , if you resisted the urge to be cruel to yourself and your thoughts , okay , that's a huge victory .
Yeah , major one there .
And even
¶ You're Becoming Who God Designed
if you just wanted to feel better , well , that's a sign of hope that's waking up inside of you . And guess what that's ?
a victory .
Yes , it is Because hope , hope is what we hold on to here . The hope of Jesus is what keeps us going .
Now maybe you're looking around and thinking what's there to hope for ? Maybe the world feels like it's burning , literally and figuratively . I hear you , heather , hears you In the smallest corners of life . Hope , lives . There's always hope .
Oh , there's always hope . The hope that we have in Jesus sometimes lives in shade , right In kindness , in the sound of a friend's voice or even a stranger holding the door open for you .
It lives in a cold glass of lemonade and the quiet strength of just showing up in your own life , even when it's hard going to God and saying I can't do this , because hope doesn't always roar right . Sometimes it whispers . Try again tomorrow .
And tomorrow will come . Might not bring instant change , but it does bring another opportunity , another breath , another step forward . So if you feel like quitting , like giving up , don't Not today .
Not today . Rest , if you have to Turn off the noise . Sit in the shade , physically , mentally , metaphorically . Drink some water , put your hand on your heart and say , okay , I'm still here , I'm still trying . God still has a plan for me , because he does . Eric , and I see that effort , sure , but so does God , yeah , you're not behind , you're not failing .
No , you're becoming . You're becoming stronger , you're becoming more compassionate , you're becoming more the person God designed you to be .
And listen . If today doesn't look like growth , trust
¶ Closing Encouragement
that it is happening .
Yeah , he's at work and sometimes healing looks like hot days and stillness right . It looks like nothing , but under the surface God is working , he's stretching , he's quietly preparing you for better days .
Yeah , they're coming .
Hang in there . You're doing better than you think , and you're not alone . God sees you .
Hope you've been encouraged . If you know someone that might need encouragement from this particular podcast today , would you send that to them ?
Oh , please .
And you can always download the WPER app to listen if you need more encouragement , and you can always listen to Virginia's Home for Encouragement , wper .