ENCOURAGING WORDS

Jeremiah 19:1-21:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:4-28; Psalm 82:1-8; Proverbs 25:9-10

“O Lord, you persuaded me, and I allowed myself to be persuaded. You are stronger than I am, and you overpowered me…. When I speak, the words burst out…. But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!”

“Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil. Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.”

“How long will you hand down unjust decisions by favoring the wicked?  Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.  Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people.  But these oppressors know nothing; they are so ignorant! They wander about in darkness, while the whole world is shaken to the core.”

“Discuss matters privately; don’t betray another person’s secret. Others may accuse you of gossip, and you will never regain your good reputation.”

Wouldn’t it be cool if all believers were as compelled as Jeremiah to speak the Lord’s word? Well, maybe not; not if what God had to say was anything like He said to Judah through Jeremiah. It was so negative, so threatening, the priests had Jeremiah arrested, flogged and put in stocks. (No, not equities, but that might be an analogous punishment today! ;<)! ) Bummer. The people couldn’t hear, because the people wouldn’t hear. But praise Jesus, Christians today have an altogether different message. It’s about redemption, not destruction; forgiveness, not retribution; salvation, not judgment. These are encouraging words, words that everybody can hear. Words of hope and freedom everyone needs to hear. So, why are we still acting like Jeremiah, reluctant to share much of anything with family and friends, let alone strangers? At the risk of sounding harsh, our reasons seem no better and no different from Jeremiah’s. We are afraid of being turned into household jokes by the skeptics. Optimism is very counter-cultural. It is easier – or, at least, more natural for humans - to tear down and criticize. Some of us even wonder if the Holy Spirit really will hold up His end of the bargain when the time comes. So, rather than take the chance of being thought utopian or just deranged, we keep our mouths shut, and allow others continue to live in the bleakness of terminal mortality.

Oh, brothers and sisters, we can do so much better! I’m not even talking about witnessing specifically. All we have to do is live boldly, confident in what we know and positive about the future as a result, and always have a ready answer for our positive outlook. We can be a living gospel that radiates joy. Primarily, though, we can and should encourage one another. Let’s not fool ourselves into believing that the only effective witness or encouragement we have to offer is our Christian testimony. We have life. We think with the mind of Christ. We can see with the eyes of the Spirit. We are the Lord’s Body. But there is no need to over-spiritualize any of this. Because the Gospel is about encouragement, and the end result of encouragement is hope, so there is never any reason to be hesitant about sharing a positive word of encouragement. It’s a great seed to plant, in and of itself!

For example, and significantly, the first words of the master to the good and faithful servant had nothing to do with spiritual matters. The man had worked hard. He received a simple, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in a few things. Now, I will put you in charge of much.” When was the last time we just encouraged someone else with an “attaboy?” Well, that’s too long.

I remember when I first came to work for my present employer. Having practiced law over ten years, I was expected to know what I was doing, and by and large, I did. The Firm decided to keep me around. What actually kept me around, however, was a colleague who actually took the time in passing to thank me and praise my efforts. I had not done anything different than my usual. The point, though, was that I had done my usual, yet it had been well over three years since I had heard any encouraging words about the results. Just like that, suddenly, work changed from being an obligation to what it had been at the beginning of my career: an opportunity. I will always be grateful to that man for so reminding me of something I had allowed, and maybe even forced myself, to forget: encouragement matters. I may have forced myself to forget about every human’s need for encouragement because, when humans don’t get enough encouragement, hope dies, hearts harden and vision is lost. That’s where I was before that fateful moment.

It should be no surprise the world’s outlook is so myopically pessimistic. At least if the media is to be believed, almost nobody is encouraging anyone. Our culture is caught in a downward spiral of fear and frustration, and there just doesn’t seem to be much to cheer about. I respectfully disagree! We are, after all, still here. Nothing’s finished. We have a Savior who seems to specialize in re-creation of those willing to follow Him. Now, we’re worthy of being tested, that’s all. I, for one, can live with that. Today. Because I have spent the last 284 days in a row studying and writing about what God shows me through His Word. What started out as mainly false bravado in the face of debilitating anxiety has matured into… something else, something far more positive. Something like encouragement.

So, here is my advice. Set yourself to finding one person to encourage today. Do it sincerely, but do it emphatically. Tomorrow, find two, and let the Lord guide you from there. If my experience is any indicator, it is safe to say that as we encourage others, we will actually encourage ourselves. We do have a valuable word to share. It’s God’s Word. But in no way does it have to be tied directly to religion. A simple “attaboy” is as good a way to start as any, and better than many.