I read a story yesterday that reminded me that words are powerful. Larry Crabb tells of a man who struggled for years with a drinking problem and depression. In the course of his counseling interviews, this story emerged. His father started a business which grew to be a large corporation. Repeatedly, this man told him, “Son, when you inherit the family business, I expect that you will ruin it.”
You can imagine the stinging pain and discouraging impact of those words. After his father died, the man was driven to prove his father wrong. The pressure to keep that prediction from coming true pushed him to work long hours. He found that alcohol was a temporary relief from the terrible fear of failure. Eventually he fell into a dark hole of depression.
Certainly the story is a warning about negative, discouraging words. But I tell the story to make this point - positive, encouraging words are just as powerful.
It is within your power today to give the gift of encouragement to the people in your world. And it won’t cost a dime or take up much of your time or effort.
Everyone you meet today is struggling in some area of their life. Everyone.
In some corner of their world they are insecure or uncertain. Most of them are weary from the struggle. Some of them have forgotten that their lives and efforts matter. They have the feeling they are toiling on alone, in the dark, with no end in sight.
A long time ago, there was a group of Jesus followers who were drifting away from their faith. Surrounded by an environment that was hostile to their faith, they were on the verge of giving up. The advice that came to them was this:
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25
Today you will walk by people who are carrying some heavy stuff in their lives. Some of those you will speak to today think their lives don’t matter. Others are discouraged by their circumstances.
What if we decided that today, we would target the people around us with some encouraging words? There’s something to appreciate about everyone. What if you gave voice to that today?
“Hey, thanks for being here. You are such a helpful person.”
“We couldn’t do this without you. Thanks so much.”
“I know things aren’t easy for you right now but I admire you for hanging in there.”
“About that job yesterday....well done.”
“Don’t give up. I believe in you.”
I’m going to try to be more intentional about being encouraging today. I hope you will too. One sentence at a time we can do some good.
1 Encouragment, The Key To Caring. Larry Crabb, Dan Allender. Zondervan Publishing House, 1984.
