We have all heard stories of empty supermarket shelves and fights over toilet paper, people not being able to feed their children, elderly people not being able to see their relatives visiting in care homes and health care workers moving away from their own families whilst looking after others.
The list could go on and on.
What all these people have in common with the rest of us is that in these difficult times, we could all do with a little encouragement!
Be An Encourager, The World Has Plenty Of Critics Already
As we are busy in life, with our own lives and with our closest friends and families, we don’t always see the needs of others around us. Communities are not always as tight as we maybe would like them to be and it seems like everyone have enough in themselves and do not really need anyone else. You do not necessarily feel needed. And we do not want to impose on someone else, leaving them vulnerable and lonely even more isolated. You might be one of those people. You might have just moved to a new area, lost a family member, split up from a relationship. Whatever our individual story, we have all felt a sense of loss at one point or another, maybe a sense of not belonging, maybe a feeling of loneliness at one time or another. This pandemic we all find ourselves in has had not only a profound effect on us individually, but all at the same time.
This is so unprecedented and something none of us has ever experienced before. Whatever your story is, being encouraged and being an encourager is for you! You might ask “why should I care?” I will give you plenty of reasons why.
Let’s look at the original word in the Bible. To encourage comes from Greek “parakaleo”, which means to admonish, to teach, to encourage, to strengthen and to console, so it is more than just saying nice words. Your focus will be on the other persons needs depending on their life situation. Encouraging others creates deeper bonds between us as we learn to lean on one another, it gives life deeper meaning, and it strengthens mental health, brings hope and teaches us virtues such as loyalty and patience. It also holds incredible power as you never know how a small act or word of encouragement might affect someone. There are many ways to encourage others.
There Are Many Ways To Encourage Others
The Bible talks extensively about encouraging one another. Depending on where you live, whether you have children to home school, if you are a key worker, live alone, if you have been furloughed and are uncertain about your financial future or if you are looking after a vulnerable person, there are still many ways in which you can reach out to others.
And often in the process, you will find not only others encouraged but you yourself be inspired and feeling uplifted.
When we look for opportunities God will open up these opportunities for us.
Look For Opportunities To Encourage Others
Volunteers have been mobilised through more than 900 different aid groups in the UK. Often we might think we can’t really make a difference, but you absolutely can. It is often the smaller things that can have a huge impact on someone. Almost 4 million British people over the age of 70 live alone, so there are plenty of needs and opportunities to serve and encourage.
In my community, one of the residents set up a WhatsApp group. We also have a Facebook group but since there are quite a few elderly residents in the area, some of us have gone door to door with greeting cards giving out our phone number should they need help with groceries, a phone call to check on them etc.
We have shared practical information and also looked out for needs that we could cover. We have all been very encouraged by the fact that we suddenly have the community we have always wanted but maybe never thought possible. And it is not a burden, but it is a joy as we all get needs met and in turn, feel needed because someone reached out. It is all about having an awareness of the community around you. Social distancing is about physical distancing, not social isolation.
“Never get tired of doing little things for others. For sometimes the little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts”
As Christians, we are called to encourage one another which means we are helping each other developing a stronger relationship with God (1 Thess 5:11). Proverbs 12:25 teaches us that our words can have a profound impact on others, and it is therefore important we learn to be wise in our speech.
You can motivate people to apply biblical scriptures to their life and remind them of Gods love and sovereignty, but often listening can be the best gift you can give to others. Sometimes sharing your own struggles and difficulties helps us learn, discover and understand things we are going through and the accessibility of sharing tools on the web and social media sites have now made it easier to share lessons, books, inspiration, insights etc into the challenges we all face in our daily lives.
Encouragement Brings Hope
Encouragement gives us hope ( Rom15:4 ). It is important to encourage each other because “in this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). Thankfully Jesus assures us in the same verse that he has overcome the world. In these times where everything seems uncertain for everyone encouragement is more important than ever. Here are a few tips if you are struggling with how to grow in this area:
Pray for God to make you an encourager. God always blesses a heart that seeks Him. He wants us to trust Him, even when we do not understand what we are going through ( Prov 3:5-6 ), but still focus on encouraging others. Ask Him what you can use, who you can encourage, how you can support etc.
Get Disciplined & Plan To Encourage Others
Make encouragement a daily discipline. This could be sending someone a text message, email, or making a phone call. It could be asking someone if they need something picked up from the shop while you are doing your own shopping etc. Whatever it is, make it intentional and with a focus on encouragement out of love and genuineness. A friend of mine from the church here in Glasgow regularly sends me a text message with a scripture to keep me going through the day, as I work in a hospital and face many work-related challenges. This is such a small gesture, but it has had a really big impact on me because I have really needed it!
Pray for God to show you who to encourage. This could be your own household, your workplace, your spouse, your kids, a family member, your neighbour or your wider community. Whoever it is, they are sure to need it
Barnabas (originally named Joseph) was a Cypriot Jew, described as “a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” ( Acts 4:36, Acts 11:24 ). He travelled on many missionary journeys with the Apostle Paul encouraging others as they travelled and shared their faith. In fact, his name Barnabas is a nickname derived from the Greek meaning “son of encouragement”. Such was his character that it became his label!
What Kind Of Person Do You Want To Be?
What do you want to be known for particularly during this lockdown and pandemic?
Someone who encouraged others as we all struggle through these times? Certainly, God has called us to and will enable us to if we let him. Let these times be times to grow in faith, grow in love and grow in encouragement.
If you feel you would like to learn more about how God wants you to be an encourager and to be encouraged, please reach out to us and get in touch. God loves an earnest seeker and can do more for you than you can ask or imagine (Eph 3:20)
As a Church family at the Glasgow Church of Christ, we just love to Encourage one another as long as it is called today. We would love to meet you and we look forwards to meeting you soon.
