Encourage One Another
Our verse for today is 1 Thessalonians 5:11.
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are already doing.”
I love this verse. It tells us what to do when you don’t know what to do. Some days, all it takes is a kind word to turn the tide.
Paul wrote these words to a young, fragile church. They were tired from waiting, worn down by hardship, clinging to hope. He didn’t tell them to fight harder or shout louder. He told them to encourage one another.
That’s no small thing. Encouragement isn’t just a compliment—it’s fuel for the weary. It says, “You matter. I see you. God isn’t finished with you yet.”
Even Paul needed that. After his conversion, many Christians didn’t trust him. Who could blame them? But Barnabas—whose name means “Son of Encouragement”—stepped in. He saw what others couldn’t yet see. He believed in Paul before anyone else did. Without Barnabas, Paul might never have found a welcome place in the early church.
We all need a Barnabas. And we all can be one. That’s the call in today’s verse: encourage one another.
Encouragement doesn’t need to be eloquent. Sometimes, it’s just a short note, a whispered prayer, or a quiet hand on someone’s back that says, “You’re not alone.”
Who knows how many battles have been won because someone dared to speak a word of hope?
I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.