Day 29

Day 29 of Your Journey
The Power of Encouraging Others

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing (1 Thess. 5:11 ESV).


But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:13).


We have all experienced how powerful words can be. Of all the memories that have faded from our minds, statements that have wounded us or encouraged us seem to live in our recollections.


That’s why the command to encourage each other is so constant in Scripture. It has force in a person’s life not only for the moment but for the future. Words of hope are rarely forgotten.


Some time ago I was stirred to write a letter of appreciation to a person who had had a meaningful impact in my life. I knew he was facing a terminal illness, so I prayed that God would give me specific things to say that would be a blessing to him. I didn’t hear back from him, but I understood that his illness made correspondence and speaking nearly impossible.


A couple of years later I received word that he had died. Though I sought to arrange my schedule to attend the funeral in another state, it was impossible to work out. After the funeral, I ran into a friend who had attended. He gave me a copy of the program to see. There on the inside cover was the letter I had sent to this man. It was obviously meaningful to him, and of anything I have ever had published, it was by far the most meaningful to me.


The most significant blessings in our lives will, in the end, not be the material ones. They will be those who have loved and encouraged us. Encouragement is not reserved for those who have the gift. It is the responsibility of every believer to “encourage one another daily.”



Making It Personal

Take time to thank God in prayer for those who have blessed your life. Then write at least one letter