Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.) Acts 11:25-26
For some, encouragement comes very naturally. Those people easily find opportunities to build people up with their words. For many of us, however, encouragement is not natural. Looking for opportunities to use our words to lift others up is not something that is second nature. This understanding brings a new light to our understanding of encouragement: encouragement requires proactivity. If we are going to use our words to encourage those around us, we have to seek out these opportunities to encourage and take them when they come up. As we become more proactive, we will find that encouragement becomes a more and more natural rhythm to our daily lives.
One notable thing about Barnabas, a man who was known for his encouragement, was that he was proactive about being encouraging. He did not wait until someone came to him to tell him they were struggling and in need of encouragement. He sought people out purposefully and intentionally. Acts 11 tells us that Barnabas went to Tarsus, Paul’s hometown, to bring him to Antioch, where they began partnering in spreading the good news about Jesus Christ (verses 25-26). Barnabas’s initiative brought about a ministry partnership that changed the world.
If we want to be encouraging people, we must seek out people to encourage. We must be proactive about our encouragement. We must continually look for people to encourage when we see someone who is doing good work, when we see someone discouraged, or when we see potential in someone. If we are not proactive, we will miss many opportunities to lift people up through encouragement. May you and I begin every day asking the Holy Spirit to give us a spirit of encouragement and set out to live a lifestyle of encouragement.
It is time that you and I become proactive about our encouragement. Spend time now praying, ask God for a spirit of encouragement, and to open your eyes to opportunities to encourage the people around you. Look for one opportunity to encourage someone and be proactive about providing that encouragement.
Read Acts 11:25-30(NLT)
Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers[a] were first called Christians.)
During this time some prophets traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus stood up in one of the meetings and predicted by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world. (This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.) So the believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the brothers and sisters in Judea, everyone giving as much as they could. This they did, entrusting their gifts to Barnabas and Saul to take to the elders of the church in Jerusalem.
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