The Power of Encouragement

But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:8-11 ESV). The power of encouragement is enormous. It shouldn’t surprise us that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica to encourage one another in the face of severe persecution with the knowledge of their hope. I read a story of the background of one of the most successful organizations dealing with weight loss recently illustrating this truth. Jean Nidetch, a 214 pound homemaker desperate to lose weight, went to the New York City Department of Health, where she was given a diet devised by Dr. Norman Jolliffe. Two months later, discouraged about the 50 plus pounds still to go, she invited six overweight friends home to share the diet and talk about how to stay on it. Today, 28 years later, one million members attend 250,000 Weight Watchers meetings in 24 countries every week. Why was Nidetch able to help people take control of their lives? To answer that, she tells a story. When she was a teen-ager, she used to cross a park where she saw mothers gossiping while the toddlers sat on their swings, with no one to push them. "I'd give them a push," says Nidetch. "And you know what happens when you push a kid on a swing? Pretty soon he's pumping, doing it himself. That's what my role in life is; I'm there to give others a push." We live in a world that can be cruel and unforgiving; it is a world where the selfish motives of men can cause others to suffer. We shouldn’t be surprised by these experiences. It is what the Bible warned us would be. However, it certainly helps when we are "built up" and encouraged by the kindness of others. Encouragement can have a tremendous positive effect. It builds people up. It increases their faith, just as it does ours when we are the recipients. It also increases their love and ability to pass on encouragement to others. Not to mention, it solidifies our relationship with that person as a true, spiritual "brother or sister" in Christ. Just one sincerely spoken, kind moment of encouragement can make a huge difference. It can lift an otherwise discouraging day to the level of "tolerable" or even better. These are very possibly the “last days.” Shouldn’t we be even more encouraging than ever before? Give someone a “push.” Our redemption is drawing near!