PROVERBS 12:25 – Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs him down, but an encouraging word brings him joy.”

It has been said, “Encouragement is the oxygen of the soul.” And if we looked around our neighborhoods, communities, workplaces, even our churches, there are a lot of people who are “suffocating” in all of life’s depressing things and need some “encouraging oxygen.” In fact, we need it too!

When it comes to the ministry of encouragement, every Christian is responsible to be active. Not only is it right and needed, but commanded. We read these words in the letter to the Hebrews-Watch out, brothers, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God. But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception (Hebrews 3:12-13). Within these words is not only the command to “encourage each other daily” but there is a warning. Should we find ourselves not seeking to be agents of encouragement to other believers, the result will be a hardening of the heart due to sin; the sin of disobeying the command to encourage. Let that be something we take seriously. Imagine attending church regularly, praying, reading our Bibles, and all seem so mechanical and lack life. Well that is exactly what happens in the heart of the believer who is not actively obeying the commands of God. Perhaps a good reason for those seasons of dry Christianity is because we are so absorbed in our own little worlds of ‘me, my, and mine’ that we are not actively obeying the command to encourage other believers? But let’s look on the positive side of this command.

First, there is a brother or sister going through a rough time in life who needs us. It might be emotional, physical, or spiritual and the “beast of anxiety” is seeking to control them. Go back to the scripture of today. How is this beast slain? An encouraging word. Today, ask the Lord to let you bring “oxygen to the soul” with a good word of encouragement to a brother or sister needing you. He will do it. The question is will we do it?

There is another side of the ministry of encouragement that is positive and good. We benefit by being encouragers. Friends, our joy deepens when we obey God’s commands. We enjoy the Lord more when we truly learn to deny ourselves, take up our cross and obey His commands. And a side note on this obedience. If we are fighting depression or discouragement, one of the quickest ways out of those dark places is to forget ourselves and go serve someone a hefty dose of encouragement. We drive away our personal dark clouds by being rays of sunshine to other believers.

The ministry of encouragement. So easy to do. All we have to do is look in the mirror and say, “Let’s go bring some ‘oxygen of encouragement’ to a suffocating brother or sister.” Then go do it!

PRAYER: “Father, help me to get out of my own little world of ‘me, my, mine’ and serve encouragement to Your people.”
QUOTE: “The ministry of encouragement is so easy. All we need to do is stop focusing so much on ourselves.”

Because of Him,
Pastor Jim