Choose Encouragement

The fastest way to change the temperature in a room is not a speech or a strategy, it’s a few well-chosen words. Today we’re talking about encouragement and why it’s one of the most overlooked tools for strengthening people who are tired, anxious, or quietly losing hope.

 Proverbs gives us insight into the biblical wisdom behind Christian encouragement: Proverbs 16:24 reminds us that kind words are “sweet to the soul” and “healthy for the body,” and Proverbs 12:25 names what so many feel, anxiety that weighs down the heart. We keep it practical with real ways to encourage today, like a simple text, a conversation, or a handwritten note, and we end with the challenge from Proverbs 18:21 to choose life with our words.

If someone comes to mind while you listen, don’t ignore that nudge. Subscribe for more five-minute starts, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find hope. Who is your “Alex” today?

Transcript

We’re Made To Encourage

Meet Alex And Sarah

Kind Words Heal And Lift

Practical Encouragement You Can Send

Choose Life With Your Words

Final Blessing And Join Us

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mack. I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and let me help you start your day right. Good morning, everybody. It's really good to have you here today. And this morning I want to talk about something that I believe we are missing out on. Really something powerful and good for our lives and for other people's lives as well. You see, we are created to impact people, and we have a profound ability through Christ working in us and through us to encourage others and lift them up when they're going through difficulties. I want to share an illustration with you to help you understand what I mean. This illustration is about Alex. Now all of us have an Alex in our lives. They're the people that we know that are going through some very, very difficult times. They seem to constantly be fighting a storm and often in a losing battle. They're struggling, they're depressed, they're distressed, and they don't know what to do. But today let me introduce you to our hero named Sarah. She is the hero not because she has a cape or a magic wand, but Sarah has made the choice to step out of her comfort zone and to be an encourager. The scripture that serves as our guiding light today is Proverbs 1624. Kind words are like honey, sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. Think about that for a moment. Kind words, sweet like honey, have the ability to nourish the soul and invigorate the body. Sarah, being the one who has chosen to be an encourager, didn't set out to solve all of Alex's problems. Instead, she chose to start sprinkling kindness and support into his life. It was never about having all the answers. It was about being a ray of sunshine in the midst of Alex's storm. Proverbs twelve twenty five wisely puts it. Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. Sarah's kind words acted as a beacon of light, lifting the weight off of Alex's heart and infusing him with a renewed sense of strength and the presence of God. Sarah's choice to get out of her comfort zone and to reach into Alex's life with encouragement helped to break the chain of anxiety, of fear, of worry, of feeling all alone and facing his struggles. It's very common for us to feel like we are fighting our battles all by ourselves. And when Sarah decided to reach into Alex's life with encouragement, Alex's perspective changed because now he was able to see some hope. Now we do need to unpack this just a little bit more. Encouragement isn't about having a perfect life or having all the answers. It's about showing up, being present, and offering a kind word or gesture. You see, Sarah didn't need a degree in counseling or a superhero cape. All she needed was a willing heart to share the goodness of God's hope and kindness. We may not have all the answers, but we do have the power to choose our words carefully. Proverbs 1523 says, A person has joy in giving an appropriate answer and a word at the right time. How good it is. Think about the times that someone's words have been like a soothing bomb to your soul. We have the opportunity to be that bomb for others. It could be a simple text or a conversation or even a handwritten note. The impact of an encouraging word is truly immeasurable. So as we navigate our own journeys, let's be mindful of those around us. Life is tough and we all face storms. And we can bring light and hope and health to those people who are struggling with our words. Proverbs 1821 says, The tongue has the power of life and death. Let's choose life. Let's choose encouragement. Let's decide today that we're going to make a difference in the life of someone who seems to be surrounded by distress and darkness. We will choose to say or do something to give them that light and hope today. You know who the Alexes are in your life. And today they need you. They need you to encourage them, to show them some truth, to show them the love of God, that there is always hope in Christ. I hope you have a great day, my friends. Be encouragers, be strong, and we will talk again tomorrow. Thank you for joining us today. And I invite you to join us every Monday to Friday, right here at Starting Right with Danny Mack.