Recently, while praying, the Lord prompted me to begin encouraging my husband again. He then said, ‘You were becoming an encourager and you’ve gotten away from it’.
I immediately remembered how, at one time, I was intentional at encouraging my husband, my children, and others. I realized that this was God’s gentle prompt for me to return to that. I was so thankful for the reminder! I want to be that person! Encouraging others has to be one of the most rewarding and most needed things imaginable.
God’s Word has a lot to say about encouragement. In Hebrews 10:24 we are told, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works…”
- ‘Stir up one another’ means to provoke or promote with intention and purpose.
- The definition of encouragement is the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope; persuasion to do or to continue something.
What I notice in these two definitions is:
- We must be intentional. That’s how I had gotten out of the habit of encouraging; I had stopped being intentional and, eventually, I just forgot to do it.
- We cannot be fake or phony. To effectively encourage others, we must genuinely love people. We may need to ask God to give us His love for those around us…even the difficult ones.
- We must have the correct motive. It could be to help people just keep going in difficult times. It could be to inspire and motivate. It could be to remind them of who God says they are and the wonderful things He says about them.
Recently, a family member was jokingly putting herself down and calling herself names when she goofed up. I noticed that it was a habit. God prompted me to remind her of the power in our words. I reminded her of what God says about her – that she is beloved, that His thoughts of her are precious, that she is made in God’s image – on purpose and for a purpose, that she is His workmanship (Eph 1:6, Psalm 139:17, Gen 1:27, Eph 2:10, respectively). She tearfully received these words and acknowledged that she should watch what she says and how she thinks about herself. It was a beautiful moment.
When we encourage others, God’s power is released into their lives, into their identity and situations, and into our relationship with them.
What a gift – a gift for the person we’re encouraging and a gift for us to be used by God to show love to the people He loves! Be that person!
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing”. -1 Thes 5:11
Sylvia Gaston is Connections Pastor at Koinonia Church in Hanford, CA. She can be reached at sylvia@kchanford.com or 559-582-1528.