Free Sunday school lesson on Christian encouragement for teens and older.
Turn to Psalm 73 (King James Version [KJV])
Many modern Christians are under the impression that people living in sin will have a bad life with little success, while obedience to God will result in an easy life with much success. This is rarely the case.
Psalm 73:3 KJV – Wicked people prosper.
Why? If the devil can keep them content in their sin, they will never seek God.
When going through trials, it’s easy to look at others, especially people who “aren’t as good as you” or “who aren’t trying to do right like you.” It’s easy to dwell on the things you could do or could’ve done had you not been trying to do right.
Asaph does the same thing. Read Psalm 73:2-14 KJV.
Doing the right thing sometimes means suffering. Sometimes, the only reason we do the right thing is because we want an easy life. We want good things to happen to us.
*This is the same motive for people doing wrong.*
God wants our motives to be about him. He wants our lives to revolve around him. It may seem selfish, but after enduring a torturous death just to redeem our souls from everlasting torment, he thinks that he deserves it.
Turn to Romans 12:1 KJV – This is our reasonable service, but sometimes we forget.
Psalms 73:3-16 KJV – We get jealous of the wicked.
Psalms 73:17 KJV – God reminds us.
Living for God is hard.
You’ll endure trials and suffering (2 Timothy 3:12 KJV). God will chasten you, try you, put you through the fire to purify you, and for the length of your life, he will never stop (Hebrews 12:6-7 KJV).
At the same time, the world tries to destroy you, sift you as wheat, discourage you, throw you out of the way because you aren’t part of it (John 15:18-19 KJV).
It’s hard to do right, and doing right is nearly impossible without the help of God.
- Being humble, resisting addictions and temptations, and not coveting
- You can’t force yourself to just not be angry or sad.
We have to stop relying on our own strength to feel and certain way or be a certain way. Christian encouragement begins when we trust God to help us and change us. We must stop relying on our own strength and pretending to be happy and positive because we know it’s the way a good Christian should be.
Before getting into how to be encouraged and how to stay encouraged, I’m going to discuss some of the reasons for why we should live our lives for God, despite what we may face.
Why do it?
- God is worthy. Even for lost people in this corrupt, fallen world, God is worthy of our praise and service. The devil and mankind are responsible for all the sin and the bad, but God is who causes the good.
- He does offer us comfort. The Holy Spirit that dwells in all saved Christians is the Comforter (John 14:26 KJV; John 14:16 KJV; John 15:26 KJV).
Imagine going through life with all the trials that we suffer without the help of God. That’s the situation of many lost people around the world. Saved people, however, have the indwelling Holy Spirit, also known as the Comforter, and for good reason.
The Comforter gives Christians inner strength. Look up the testimonies of the martyrs, and even read through the life of Paul and everything he endured (2 Corinthians 11:15-33 KJV). Christians can die joyfully just as others can live miserably. The Comforter gives us the power to be content, no matter our circumstance (Philippians 4:11 KJV).
External things do not contribute to happiness. This is something that all religions agree on, not just Christianity. People chase money, drugs, a new house, a better job, beauty, etc. Why? They think it will grant them lasting happiness at last, but that isn’t the case. Some of the most miserable people in the world are those who have finally gotten everything they wanted and are still so empty on the inside. Think of the last time you wanted something so badly then finally got it. For how long were you happy? How soon did that temporary joy wear off?
- God only chastens us to perfect us because he loves us (Hebrews 12:6 KJV).
- Lost people and people living in wickedness experience the same troubles as Christians trying to do right, but they go through it alone. This was already mentioned in point 2. We may not be able to see these trials, but that doesn’t mean these people aren’t suffering (Psalm 73:17-28 KJV).
Christian encouragement: How to stay encouraged as Christians.
- Hebrews 12:1-3 KJV – We must keep our eyes on God and not on ourselves.
- Ephesians 5:19 KJV – This is one way to walk in the Spirit. Music impacts your mood. (Sad music will make you sad; upbeat music will make your heart rate quicken.) Spiritual music, such as hymns, will strengthen the New Man inside you.
- Walk in the Spirit to bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17, 22-23 KJV). How can you walk in the Spirit? Do your best to do what you know God wants you to do. Have a relationship with him: read your bible daily, pray, and go to church.
It’s hard to focus on God more than any other aspect: success, proving others wrong, having enough money, family, etc. Everything can go right in a person’s life, and they can still be the most miserable person in the world. But, God has made promises to people who serve him, and the best thing to do is to ask God to help you get your priorities straight. Christian encouragement begins and ends with your relationship with God. Get in the bible to find out what God has said he would give you, and ask him to give you those things.
Remember: this life is temporary. We are here for just a little while. Our true home is heaven, and that should be where our time and attention is focused. God himself suffered when he came to earth as a man, and we as Christians are called to follow in his footsteps. But, we do not have to suffer alone. It certainly is possible for a Christian to feel like they’re suffering alone, especially if they have seared their conscience and quenched their indwelling Holy Spirit, but Christians who stay close to God will have unexplainable peace and joy that will make the world wonder and draw others to Christ.
If you enjoyed this Sunday school lesson on Christian encouragement, be sure to check out other lessons!