Barnabas was called “Son of Encouragement!” No doubt, people loved him. Everywhere he went, he encouraged the people. It was a dark time… persecution in the church was abounding, false teachers were leading people astray, and sickness was invasive. People must have been very discouraged at times. Their security was being threatened. Joy was waning. Satan was abounding. But then Barnabas came to town. He walked in with a smile and said, “I’ve heard about your faith. Paul is encouraged by your testimony. You guys are doing a phenomenal job.” Imagine how these words took them out of this dark world they were living in and gave them hope. Everyone needs to be encouraged.
In fact, our key verse doesn’t say, “You should think about encouraging others. Or maybe you should encourage someone today.” No! Encouraging others is a mandate. It’s something every believer should do on a daily basis. And here’s the thing… no matter how bleak things look in our life, we should still encourage others. By encouraging others, we ourselves are encouraged for sure.
There are many ways you and I can encourage others. We can lift them up by our words… “Love your new hair style. You are doing a great job. You look fabulous. The way you handled that encouraged me. You inspire me to keep going. You are a blessing to so many people.” Or we can encourage someone by our perspective… finding the good in everything. I have a lot of people around me who tend to focus on the negative. So, I try to change their perspective by showing them the ways God is working, reminding them how far they’ve come, or helping them to focus on the positive.
We can encourage someone by offering to help them, speaking truth into their life, hugging them, or listening to them. We encourage people by showing them their worth and value. The world doesn’t do this, but we can just by encouraging them.
There is someone in your life today that needs encouragement. Ask God to show you who it is. It may be someone you have had issues with, or someone who stands on the opposite side politically, or someone who seems to have it all together. By encouraging people, we can lift their spirits, give them hope, and change their perspective. Encouragement can shine a light into the Kingdom of God and even bring people to Jesus. Encouragement can lift people right out of the mud and set their feet on solid ground. Let’s be an encourager today.