As I reflect over the past year or more I have experienced both more encouragement and discouragement than at any other point in my life. I don’t necessarily think that I have been any better or worse than at any other point in my life, I think it’s just because every thing has been digital and so I read it rather than hear it. Because people aren’t ‘seeing’ me in the normal way they communicate it through an email or a comment etc.

This has led me to think about those words – encouragement and discouragement

This is super obvious, but as I dwelt on the words I realise that they both contain the word courage in them. When you look at the meaning and how the words are formed it therefore means that discouragement is “the removal of courage” and encouragement is “the giving of courage.” When we encouragement someone we are literally giving them courage to keep going and when we are discouraging them we are removing their courage to move.

 The prophet Isaiah gives an instruction to the people of his day to be encouragers. He says this;

3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Isaiah 35: 3-4 (NIV)

Really simply, he is telling them to be encouragers. Tell those who are struggling to be strong, don’t fear, God will come. He is telling the people to give courage to others. This would be lovely if that is where it stopped but Isaiah goes on and tells us something else that is incredible.

5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. Isaiah 35: 5-6 (NIV)

Wow! Isaiah seems to be saying that by giving courage to those who are struggling we are opening a gateway to the miraculous. You might think that is a stretch but encouragement sounds like the Kingdom to me. When the Kingdom is announced the things of the Kingdom are close. SO it would make total sense that in a culture of encouragement that the miracles would be present.

How can we be people who give strength to others? What if we practised this? What else would we see God do if we cultivated encouragement in our lives?