Don’t you just love it when someone tells you that they're proud of you, or that something you said made a difference in their life, or that you look great? We know it’s the power of encouragement, but too often we don’t take it as seriously as we should. The Scripture says, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:13). To encourage means “to impart courage, to make fearless, to make brave.” God is saying that if we stand together like the defensive line on a football team, we will stand victoriously against the enemy’s deceit and discouragement. That’s a powerful promise.
God has instructed us on how to operate at our highest potential and performance, namely through encouraging one another. The Scripture says that “two are better than one,” because when one falls, the other is there to pick him up (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10). That’s why the enemy constantly works to isolate us, deceive us, and discourage us. He wants to take our courage and subtract from what God is doing in our lives. I’ve seen people get so down and discouraged that they can’t even think straight, let alone stand against the enemy. You know those times when the enemy has gotten in and is having a heyday in your mind. He tells you that you’re not good enough, you can’t do it, you’ll never get well, and you may as well quit trying. But when you have people around you who stand with you and encourage you and lift you, you will rise up and defeat the enemy together.
God wants us to show up strong with encouragement for other people, like Moses did for the people of Israel. Having told Pharaoh to free God’s people from slavery, Moses showed the Israelite elders the miraculous signs that God would do. Yet when Pharaoh initially resisted, the people of Israel “did not listen to Moses because of their discouragement and harsh labors” (Exodus 6:9). They were so buried under years of discouragement that they could not even hear about the God of the impossible. Nevertheless, God used Moses to restore hope to His people and bring them out into freedom.
How different would this world look if we all encouraged someone daily? How strong would we be with our arms linked together in defense? It might be a simple word of encouragement to your spouse, to your child, to a coworker, to a neighbor, to a friend. Ask God to give you someone today to encourage in a meaningful way. Your positive words can bring light into dark situations and refresh spirits to withstand the storms of life.