Encouragement matters more than you think

I forget a lot of conversations I have had in the past. I’m sure you do as well. So many interactions are critical at the time but don’t stick with you months or years afterwards.

There are two exceptions to this. Conversations where someone has been harshly critical of you, and conversations where you have been encouraged. The right words at the right time can be a wonderful blessing and harsh words delivered wrongly can cause terrible devastation.

Encouragement is so important. We all need encouragement. The Bible says a lot about this and leaves us many examples of this to consider, such as:

• Moses was instructed by God to encourage Joshua, for the role he was going to fill would be difficult (Deut 1:38, 3:28).
• Barnabas, literally “son of encouragement”, lived out his name in the times we come across him in the New Testament. He used his resources to help those in need (Acts 4:36), he spoke on Paul’s behalf to the church in Jerusalem (Acts 9:27), and he encouraged the early church in Antioch for their evangelism and perseverance (Acts 11:22).
• Sermons by the apostles are at times referred to as words of encouragement (Acts 13:15).
• A key ministry of the apostles as they travelled was to encourage Christians (see Acts 14:22, 15:32, 20:1, and Rom 1:12 among many others).

Let me give a few ways you can be a great encouragement to others this week:

• Consider how you use the Sunday church service. There will be many who come who are discouraged; perhaps they have family struggles, issues with their workplace, or struggles with sin. They have been apart from other believers all week, and this is their opportunity to be encouraged. Talk to them. Listen to their story. Consider together what you learnt from the sermon and how it might impact your lives. Those kind words and time spent might matter more than you ever thought.
• Be thoughtful with your prayers. We encourage everyone to pray for those in our church directory regularly. You will come across those you know and those you do not. Inform your prayers; ask the person what you can pray for. Let someone know by a text that you are praying for them that day. That simple act might build someone up and make them feel like they are a real part of a wider body.
• Be slow to criticise. This is the other side of the coin but is still important. Our quick reaction to something being not to our preference is to tear someone down. Churches are riddled with people who are reluctant to play music due to some criticism someone made years ago, or who suffered due to the words said to them after leading a service. Your words matter; make them count to encourage others.