When I was in elementary school, my best friend had the most
unusual name. For privacy reasons, I’m not going to divulge his name but trust
me…it was odd. He was also the son of an unwed mother. Besides having an
unusual name, in a time where divorce was almost unheard of, he was singled out
as a fatherless child. The other kids would pick on him; make up new names for
him but the comment that I knew hurt the most was, “Who’s your daddy?”
When asked that, he would withdraw within himself and tears
would form. He never participated in any before or after school activities. He withdrew
from everyone but me. Even though I
attempted to build him up and he trusted our friendship, he always questioned
my sincerity.
In 6th grade, we started changing classes in
school instead of sitting in the same room all day. One of the classes was
Music Appreciation taught by Mr. Friedell, the schools choir master and also my
church’s Worship Leader. While calling role call to identify the students, he
came upon my friend’s name. Stopping, Mr. Friedell looked at him and with a
puzzled look asked him, “Do I know your father?”
Of course this just devastated my friend. As the tears were
running down his face, Mr. Friedell spoke, which I consider to this day, as being
led by the Holy Spirit. He stated, “Oh
yes…You’re a Child of God”! It was like someone just turned off the water
fountain. A smile came over my friend face and for the first time outside his
family and friends, I saw a look of joy!
Later, my friend started attending my church and
participating in the school and church choir. I had never realized how great a
tenor voice he had. After High school we went our separate ways, I went to the
US Navy and he accepted a scholarship to Julliard School…a private conservatory
college in New York for aspiring musicians, actors and dancers. Today, he is a Professor of Music at a
prestigious New England University… a Christian full of joy!
Isn’t it amazing how one word of encouragement can change
your life?
1 Thessalonians 2:11, 12 For you know that we dealt with
each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting
and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and
glory.
As Christians we need all the encouragement we can get! We
need encouragement because it’s easy to become discouraged.
So, how do we encourage?
1.
We encourage people by using PLEASANT words
without spite. Proverbs 12:25, “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, but a
good word makes it glad.”
2.
We encourage people by recognizing what God has DONE
through them.
3.
We encourage people with GRATITUDE for how they
have blessed us. 2 Thes.1:3, “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers,
and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every
one of you has for each other is increasing.
4.
We encourage people by BELIEVING in them. 2 Tim.
4:11, “Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is
helpful to me in my ministry.”
5.
We encourage people by speaking well of them to
OTHERS. 2 Corinthians 9:2, “for I know your readiness, of which I boast about
you to the Macedonians, namely, that Achaia has been prepared since last year,
and your zeal has stirred up most of them.”
6.
We encourage people by NOT discouraging them.
Proverbs. 16:21 the wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words
promote instruction.
7.
We encourage people by listening to them,
praying for them, and taking their concerns SERIOUSLY!
Some people think that frustrating others
will make them try harder, that saying, “You can’t do that” will challenge them
to succeed. This is not a true statement.
A study was done by psychologist Dr. Henry
H. Goddard, on energy levels in children. He found that when tired children are
given a word of praise or encouragement, it showed an immediate upward surge of
new energy. When the children are criticized and discouraged, it showed their
physical energy take a sudden nose-dive.
Those results could be probably be duplicated in adults. When we are praised our energy levels go up. When we are criticized our energy levels go down.
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