Scripture for the Day
(December 7, 2020)
The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of Joy. (Zephaniah 3:17) NLT
Quite a few years ago when Ed and I first started serving as Chaplains at business events we were told about a book called Balcony People. It was written by author Joyce Landorf- Heatherley. She was a very well-known author and speaker. I loved her book! In the world we live in today we could use lots of Balcony People. What is a Balcony People? They are, what Joyce calls affirmers. People who genuinely love you and want God’s best for you. They encourage you, affirm you, speak life to you, and help you to discover and see yourself in a clearer and truer light. They are planters of dream-seeds.
There is another person in all of our lives that is the opposite of the affirmer. That person is the one that always discourages you, tells you that you can’t do that. They make harmful remarks that the enemy keeps playing over and over in your mind. Joyce calls them evaluators. They kind of remind me of the spies that came back and told Moses that the land was full of giants and they were like grasshoppers! (Numbers 13:33) On the other hand Joshua and Caleb said, we are well able to take the land! (Numbers 13:30) But the men who had gone up with them said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.” (Numbers 13:31)
Balcony People love from the heart. Balcony People listen from the heart. Balcony People care from the Heart. Affirmers are always interested in finding ways to care for others. I not only want lots of Balcony People in my life, I want to be one!! As we all deal with this crazy world, God help us to be Balcony People! Help us to affirm others and encourage others. Help us to be like the cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 12:1, (Cheryl’s paraphrase) we are surrounded by such a great crowd of witnesses leaning over the bannisters of Heaven rooting for
us! A whole crowd of Balcony People!
Jesus in the best Balcony Person I know. He loves you with an everlasting love. He says that you are more than a conqueror. He rejoices over you with singing. He chose you, anointed you, and said He would never leave you. How great is that? I want to be like Him!
