Abram had taken a stand (in Genesis 14) and the Lord knew he was going to need encouragement. We need to be encouraged in these last days when it is so easy to say things which discourage. But the Lord comes to Abram after his conflict and rejection of the king of Sodom and tells him that He will protect him.
The Lord will protect you, dear young person. You will never lose anything worthwhile while seeking to follow Christ.
Though it is not right to flatter one another, how often do we fail to speak a little word of encouragement to one another. The enemy will always try to discourage you after you have tried to do something for the Lord. Let’s not fail to try to encourage one another in the path of faith.
Jonathan went out to fight and he was apparently about to turn back when his armor-bearer spoke a little word of encouragement. He went forward and won a great victory (1 Sam. 14).
When the Apostle Paul was arrested and thrown in prison, he might have been discouraged! But we read “the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of Me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome” (Acts 23:1111And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. (Acts 23:11)).
The Lord encouraged the beloved Apostle for the days that lay ahead, for he would be in prison for a long time—yet he never would forget that the Lord “stood by him.”
G. H. Hayhoe (from an address)