Lent: Day 12

Encouragement

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)

The apostles referred to Barnabas as the “son of encouragement.” After the conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus, it was Barnabas who brought him to the Apostles in Jerusalem. The Apostles were distrustful of Saul/Paul because of his persecution of Christians before his calling.

When nobody else believed in and saw the potential in Paul, Barnabas did. Paul may not have become the great Christian that he grew to be without encouragement from Barnabas.

In my teaching and coaching experiences, I have always tried to look for positive attributes in people and encourage them to achieve more than they thought possible. I have found that encouragement, when faced with a challenge serves like a catalyst in a chemical reaction. Small doses of encouragement mixed in at the right time enable a person to accomplish things thought to be too difficult.

In September 1995, I entered the soccer team I was coaching in the Palatine Celtic Penalty Kick Shootout competition. This contest required all 16 players to take a penalty kick. The team practiced weekly, and the assistant coaches and I repeatedly encouraged each of our players to envision a successful kick.

Making a successfully penalty kick against a good goalie is a talent for some, but very difficult for most. In this single-elimination competition, we finished first out of twelve teams. What was more remarkable, was not that our best penalty kickers were successful in scoring, but that our two weakest players, who had never made a penalty kick in competition, made all four of their penalty kicks.

God wants us to encourage each other. With encouragement, transformations can happen at both valley moments as well as mountain top moments of life. God’s glory can increase as we respond to and provide encouragement.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to be encouragers of others. Help us to see the opportune moments to lift others up, and enable them to become things that You dream for them. Help us to realize Your dreams for us and to be responsive to encouragement from You and from others. Amen.