Unsung Heroes: Encouragement of Barnabas — Wednesday
Acts 14:21-22
They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. (NIV)
One summer when I was working at a Christian camp, I hit a slump about halfway through the summer. I was 6 weeks into intense ministry with 24 hours off a week. I was tired, homesick, and felt underappreciated. My job was behind the scenes, and a lot of the work I did went unnoticed. I had spent the majority of my summer being constantly surrounded by people and found that the only place I could have some peace and quiet during the day was the dirty dish pit.
One particular day, I had some margin in my schedule to wash the breakfast dishes that hadn’t been finished. I spent the next hour scrubbing pots and pans alone. I found myself complaining in my head to the Lord: My work isn’t noticed. Nobody would know if I was gone. This is a waste of time. I want to go home. As I started to sob the pent-up frustration out of my body, someone walked through the kitchen. I didn’t look back to see who it was before he spoke: “Hey, Amber… I wanted to let you know that I see the work you’re doing, and I don’t know what we would do without you this summer. Keep up the good work.”
By the time I wiped my tears to turn around and thank him, he had already left the room. Yet his words of encouragement were the start of a change in my attitude. I started to see value in the work I was doing, whether other people saw it or not. I was able to shift my mindset from “I am working for nothing” to “I am working for the Lord.” All it took was one bit of encouragement from someone. I’m not sure if he knew how much it meant to me, but I believe the Lord gave Him that word of encouragement to give to me because He knew how much I needed it.
It doesn’t take a lot to build someone up, so let’s be generous with our words and tell people when they’re doing a good job. You never know the impact it could have.
Wednesday’s Reflection
Practice being quick to encourage today—look for one person you can lift up with your words and speak some truth into their life. And not only today, but I challenge you to make this a frequent practice in your life.