Building One Another  

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. I Thessalonians 5:11

Help People Cope!

Dear Friend,

The word “cope” is interesting. It means to struggle or to deal with some challenge, often in a calm and deliberate way. She coped with a flat tire. He coped with a stuffy nose.

Life presents us with all sorts of coping situations, some are micro-copes and others are macro-copes.

Micro-copes deal with those little challenges we all face. With macro-copes, we face harder ones.

If we contend with too many micro-copes at once, they may feel like a macro-cope!

The Apostle Paul urges us to “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2) and that each of us “bear our own load (Galatians 6:5).

We may think of this as bearing one another’s macro-copes and carrying our own micro-copes.

We immediately realize that whether people are micro-coping or macro-coping, our role in their lives is to encourage them and to come along side to help!

The Holy Spirit is “The Helper,” who comes along side to help. Trust God’s Spirit to both help you cope and help others cope through you!

Joy to you – Stan

© Copyright 2022 E. Stanley Ott

Scripture from the ESV

1. What are some of the micro-copes and the macro-copes of your own life?
2. In what ways have other people helped you cope with the small and large challenges you have faced?
3. Name a person or two in your world who is coping with so many matters and or who is facing a really tough situation. How will you come alongside to be both an encourager and a helper in their lives?

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