SCRIPTURE:
3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God…you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. 8 God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. 9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. 11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
Philippians 1:3-11
OBSERVATION:
There is power in encouragement. And that power is not just for the one you encourage; it’s for you too.
In his letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul doesn’t begin with business. He doesn’t tell them all the things they’re doing wrong or the things they could improve upon. He begins with encouragement. He tells them that every time they come across his mind, he thanks God for them. He tells them that they are loved by God and loved by him, and he even blesses them in Jesus’ name. He begins by encouraging them––and because He did, both the Philippians, and himself, were blessed.
APPLICATION:
When was the last time you encouraged someone? If you have to think long and hard about it, the answer is “too long.”
I remember interacting with this Christian leader who was all about business. He always talked about moving the ministry forward, areas of improvement, and things that needed to be done. And he was effective in producing results. However, he seldom encouraged anyone. Rather than speak words of life, he opted for words of productivity. Instead of calling forth new gifts and talents within people, he pointed out what was wrong with them. Although he could have thanked people for their service to God, he opted to move on and focus on future tasks. And because he did, despite the great results he produced, he also caused great anxiety, disappointment, and disillusion to those he led. Even looking at my own experiences with this leader, I realized that the anxiety that I felt was not because the demands were too much; it was because the encouragement was too little. And had this leader encouraged us a little more, many of the problems we faced could have been avoided.
As Solomon writes in Proverbs 18:21 NIV, “the tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” You get to choose whether your tongue will speak life or death. When we speak words of encouragement, we speak life into someone. As Proverbs 16:24 NIV says, “gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” However, when we speak words of discouragement––or when we fail to speak any encouragement at all––we speak death. “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1 NIV).
Today, speak life into someone. Encourage them in the name of Jesus and build them up with the love of the Lord. As Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV, “encourage one another and build each other up.” There is great power in encouragement. And what’s more? It’s completely free! Encouraging someone does not cost you anything, yet to them, it can mean everything.
So encourage someone today. Tell them how much God loves them and how much you love them. Thank them for the sacrifices they’ve made to make a difference in your life and in the Kingdom of God. And when you do, you won’t just bless them; God will bless you.
PRAYER:
God,
Thank You for the gift of encouragement. Thank You for those You have sent my way to encourage me when I’ve needed it most, and thank You for building me up in Your love through the words of life people have spoken over me. Today, use me to encourage someone else. Enable me to speak words of life into them. And when I do, may they experience and know with all their heart that they are loved by You, and by me too. I love You, Lord. Thank You for loving and encouraging me.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
