Nonna’s kNOWledge

Encourage One Another NOW

BY CAROLYN JOY

There are wars and rumors of wars. There are sicknesses and diseases like never before. There is so much hatred to go around that people do not know how to love anymore. Now is the time to encourage one another. This world is spiraling out of control at warped speed. Everyone could use some words of encouragement. In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Paul writes, Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing (NIV).

To encourage means to give support, confidence, hope, or advice to someone so that they will do or continue to do something. Paul knew that the new believers in Christ were going through difficult times and that their tough times would continue. Paul understood the power of words and inspired this new group of Christians to lift each other up. He wanted them to encourage and motivate each other to walk this new path that would bring them eternal life in Christ.

People like to be around positive people. No one likes to be around the person who is sour grapes, someone who brings people down and deflates the air in a room. There were plenty of difficult situations and sinful motives in New Testament times, just like there are now. We have a choice to be a person who dwells on the bad or who resides in the good. The person who sees good in every person or any situation is a person others want to be around.

Have you ever been in a situation that appears to be hopelessly bleak? When around every corner, trouble, darkness, and despair seemed to prevail? Remember that if given the opportunity to deposit your problems or bad situation and leave with someone else’s trials, you would likely choose to leave with your own. Try and find the rose among the thorns. Perhaps the bad situation has enabled broken relationships to mend. Perhaps, the out-of-control person pushed others to set healthy boundaries. Encouragement is something we carry with us at all times. All it takes is a little thought and a few words. We could encourage a young child that their reading and writing is coming along nicely. We could encourage a young mom that she is doing a great job with her kids. We could encourage the person serving us food that they’re appreciated and have a beautiful smile.

While there are always plenty of people to encourage, let’s always remember to lift up our children and grandchildren. God specifically placed them in our lives for us to shepherd and pour our love into them. Tell them they are doing a great job. Encourage them as they learn to walk and talk, play a musical instrument or sport, and come home with school grades. Encourage them as they learn how to drive, cook, and find a job. There are endless ways to encourage those God has entrusted to our care. Of course, the most valuable nurturing we could give them is to encourage them to pray, read, and study God’s Word. Proverbs 22:6 promises, Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it (ESV). Encouraging words can change lives. Encouraging words can turn a bad day into a good day. Encouraging words can live forever!

Paul once again used the same encouraging words in 1 Thessalonians 4:18, Therefore encourage one another with these words. The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together in good times and in bad times, that is the best encouragement we could ever give one another! As mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and babysitters, let’s always remember to encourage our children to seek their soon-coming King!

Start today and speak words of encouragement NOW!

NONNA’S CHUCKLE

When I write an article, I always share the topic with my grandchildren (ages 5-13). Taking the time to talk to them about encouragement, I learned things about them that I can now encourage in them.

Desiring to make this an interactive exercise, I asked them to encourage me in something. Most were great at encouraging my writing and to pursue my dreams. However, my seven-year-old granddaughter said, “I would like to encourage you to cook more so you don’t have to waste your money going out to eat!” (That is not exactly what I was searching for!) with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

Carolyn Joy is a Southwest Florida Real Estate Agent, mother of three married children and Nonna to eleven grandchildren. She serves in her church and helps lead a women’s Bible study in her community. She’s the author of two devotional journals, The Overflow of the Heart and Let Your Heart Overflow with Joy, which encourage scripture memorization and writing prayers. Her novel, Out of the Grey Zone, demonstrates God’s grace, mercy, forgiveness, and unconditional love.