"We exhort you, brethren, admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all."
- 1 Thess. 5:14 RSV
Dean Merrill tells a story* of a man who lost his professional job in a bad economy, perhaps a lot like today; eventually he took a job as a common laborer to support his family. Some of us may identify with this unfortunate man. The work was exhausting; instead of going to an office each day, he was hauling loads of concrete block up to the fifth level of a construction site. The atmosphere was unbearable. Profanity shot through the air, especially from the foreman, whose primary management tools were whining and intimidation.
After a few weeks, our worker felt he couldn’t take it any more. He'd already been the butt of more than one joke when his lack of experience caused him to do something foolish. “I just can't handle any more of this.” He decided to finish out the morning and then leave at lunchtime.
Shortly before noon, the foreman came around with paychecks. As he handed the man his envelope, he made his first civil comment to him in three weeks. “Hey, there's a woman working in the front office who knows you. Says she takes care of your kids sometimes.” “Who?” He named the woman, who sometimes helped in the nursery of the church where the man and his family worshiped. When the beaten down worker opened his envelope, he found, along with his check, a handwritten note from the payroll clerk: “When one part of the body of Christ suffers, we all suffer with it. Just wanted you to know that I'm praying for you these days.” He stared at the note, astonished at God's timing. He hadn't even known the woman worked for this company. Here at his lowest hour, she had given him the courage to go on, to push another wheelbarrow of mortar up that ramp.
A word of encouragement at a low point in our lives or in our faith can work wonders. Paul writes to the Thessalonians that they should “encourage the fainthearted”. Everyone hits low points from time to time, and one of the blessings that God provides is someone to give us a pat on the back and a word of encouragement at such a time. And we can be that blessing for others. Don’t fail to take the opportunity to give someone hope and courage when they need it most. You speak with the voice of angels. A quiet word, a quick note, that’s all it takes to make a difference in a life, like that pay clerk made. What if she hadn’t bothered to put her note in his pay envelope, if she’d said, “I’m sorry he’s down on his luck, but there is nothing I can do”? Little actions can have lifelong consequences.
Prayer: Lord, let me be sensitive to those around me who need encouragement in their daily life, and let me be like Barnabas, a son of encouragement. In the name of the one who blesses us every day with holy hope. Amen.
*Dean Merrill, Another Chance, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), p. 138.
Bill Mankin
Wyoming Ministry
and Mission Coach
|
 |
-Read past thoughts-
