"When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord." Acts 11:23-24 NLT
"Excuse me," someone said from behind as I turned around in the checkout line at Walmart yesterday. "Oh it is you!" the two women said excitedly. "Trinity saw you and said 'Mom that's Coach Mimi! That was my Upward cheerleading coach.'" "Oh my goodness," I replied, holding back tears at the sight of this beautiful young lady standing in front of me. "You're all grown up Trinity... and you're so beautiful! The last time I saw you, you were in kindergarten. Oh how I wish I could hug you!!" And as we stood there catching up, I silently thanked the Lord for having allowed me to be a part of this child's life for a season - and to have been able to encourage her in such a way that she would remember me nearly 13 years later.
And you know, as a coach who has had the blessing of working with children and adults for many years, I can tell you that encouraging words can absolutely make or break a person. They have the power to inspire someone to attempt the impossible and they have the power to cause a person to rise up after failure. But guess what? Encouraging others is not just a coach's job. It's the job of every believer. In fact, because Barnabas "encouraged the believers" in the early church "to stay true to the Lord... many people were brought to the Lord." And no matter what job or position any one of us might be in, we all have opportunities to encourage fellow believers to stay true - to stimulate them to stay in the fight when the Christian walk gets hard and to hold fast to their faith when they feel like giving up.
So don't wait for opportunities to lift someone up today my friend. Look for them. Pray for them. And when God puts a person in your path or on your heart that needs encouragement, remind that person to dig deep and press on for the prize that awaits every believer who remains faithful to the end.
Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that we, like Barnabas, are to be encouragers. We are to uplift, motivate, and inspire our brothers and sisters in Christ to keep pressing on when they feel like giving up. Give us the words Lord to say what they need to hear and the boldness to speak. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!!!
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