Encourage literally means “to put in courage.” It was C.S. Lewis who said, “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”
Lewis links courage to our other virtues–like honesty and integrity because without courage, these virtues will never withstand the trials and temptations of this world.
As a thought experiment, consider two young people of relatively equal station in life. Both will get beat up by the world, and both will experience the ebb and flow of life’s currents. But now let’s give one of them a true encourager.
This encourager will continually build up the young man and remind him of his character and true nature in Christ. Time after time this encourager offers not only the “atta boys,” but also the brass tacks encouragements to press forward even when it is hard (and sometimes because it is hard).
Two people, one with the love of true encouragement, and one without. Who will fare better in this volatile world?
True encouragers help you persevere through the times when you experience the refining fires of God’s crucible.
Do you need an encourager like this? Are you an encourager like this? Thank God I have a few. One of the best in my life is my good friend and mentor, Wes Roberts. He’s even become an encourager to my son, Hayden, who has stepped into the teenage years. How has an encourager changed your life?
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