Who I am is a result of a chorus of encouraging voices. How to encourage those around you.
Voices
When perseverance waned, someone told me, “You are the most courageous leader I know.”
Photo by Hugues de BUYER-MIMEURE on Unsplash
When discouragement increased, another said, “Anything worth doing is always hard. Keep going.”
“I believe in you.”
“Stick with it.”
“We need you.”
A Way Forward
That was 2003. Over the course of fifteen years land was purchased,
a facility was built,
a congregation relocated,
our debt was paid off,
a dream was realized,
and the Kingdom of God expanded through North Pointe.
I give what I received – encouragement.
5 Ways To Encourage Anyone
1. Someone needs to hear your voice or read something you’ve written…today.
It may be a friend or your spouse or your boss or the barista making your favorite espresso.
Someone is waiting for your unexpected but needed words of care or appreciation.
Sincere compliments cost nothing and can accomplish so much. In any relationship, they are the applause that refreshes.
She followed in the steps of the courageous. One step at at time. Then the unexpected happened. She herself became fearless.
2. Use thoughtful and timely words to lift someone up.
Encouragement is about heavy lifting. The best exercise is reaching down to lift someone else up. Did you know the tongue is the strongest muscle in the human body?
Sometimes, you may not even be aware another person is down. But you feel prompted to say something or do something kind for them.
How often in response have you heard the words, “That was just what I needed. Thank you.”
3. Use your past struggles and morph them into empathy.
Gabby Giffords, an former Arizona Congresswoman, was ambushed and seriously wounded on January 8, 2011.
During her recovery she “was depressed by the fact that a woman of her standing could no longer count on making it to the rest room ‘in time’ during the extensive rehabilitation that followed her shooting.”
Her husband, commander of a space shuttle crew, encouraged her by identifying with her limitation. “Even revered astronauts,” he revealed, “have bodily limits and have to rely on Huggies during extended launch exercises.” Gabrielle Giffords, A Story of Courage and Hope
4. Turn your pain into someone else’s gain.
Never waste your pain. Use the ways God encouraged you to make you a comforter.
“…the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” 2 Corinthians 1:4, 5 (NIV)
5. Be a cheerleader for the accomplishments of others.
The exchange of dialogue between Frodo and Sam in “The Two Towers” says it all.
Frodo: “I can’t do this, Sam.”
Sam: “I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end.
But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer.” JR Tolkien, The Two Towers
Make it your goal to encourage someone today. Join the Courageous movement. Please leave a comment below. Thank you.
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You don’t have to do something big to encourage someone. It can be very simple. Looking and smiling at someone let’s them know you see and acknowledge them. Saying hello opens the door for a conversation. Contacting someone you know just to say they are in your thoughts might just be what they need at that time. Buy someone a coffee, sit or take a walk with them. Keep it simple, it means a lot.
Thank you for these great words! You truly have a church of wonderful people who do this to me every woman’s bible study. It is great to see your students follow in your footsteps! I will go forward being an encourager, as I was shown by people that I never even knew before. Thank you for your wonderful teachings, and for your encouraging wife who is beautiful inside and out. Amazing pastors! May God continue to bless you both!!