1 Thessalonians 5:11 Encourage the hearts of your fellow believers and support one another, just as you have already been doing.
The smallest word of encouragement can make the biggest difference in someone else’s day.
An important lesson that I am sure we all taught our children is that if you have nothing nice to say, then say nothing at all. But did we teach them a very important life lesson of intentionally saying something nice? We can be such a blessing to one another by simply using our words of encouragement to lift another’s confidence and spirit. A gesture of kindness goes a long way.
We will all have opportunities to struggle with discouragement because none of us are perfect and we all make mistakes. We won’t live without life’s challenges coming against us, so we will have our days of doubt and frustration. But when surrounded by a community of people that understand the importance of encouraging someone who is discouraged, those down times can be changed in an instant. Or if we are in the habit of speaking life and giving compliments, an unbeatable level of confidence starts to take root. Your words matter! Cheering others on and loving others is a very special gift you can give any time you choose. I love how 1 Thessalonians 5:11 speaks about continuing to encourage the hearts of your fellow believers and supporting one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. This is a great reminder that we will all need to be encouraged at one time or another and through this, we are showing great support for one another.
My youngest son TJ had his junior year of football, we were having a great run into the playoffs. The team felt unstoppable. TJ had an incredible season and was one of the playmakers for the team. But unfortunately, in the second quarter of the third playoff game, he broke his collarbone. He was done for the season. His coach looked at him and said, “you have been one of the best players on this team, now it ’s time to be the best encourager”. TJ still had a roll even though it wasn’t on the field. I was so proud of him as I watched him cheer his teammates on to victory the rest of the game. No matter the pain he was probably in, along with the personal discouragement I know he was feeling, he made encouraging his team a priority.
Some of my most favorite pictures and memories of the boy’s football careers weren’t the pictures of them crossing the goal line for another touchdown, but when their teammates were celebrating the touchdown with them or they were celebrating a great play with their teammates. I can also say some of my proud mom moments came as I watched the boys encouraging each other through prayer or leading the team in prayer before games. We are all given so many opportunities to encourage one another. We just need to make the choice to speak it, not just think it.
Encouragement is an important role to have for a winning team and it takes a total team effort to get the victory. Celebrating the wins is easy but never let another teammate fall without extending a hand, lifting them up, and encouraging them…your voice and actions always matter!
