When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. Acts 11:22-23
My friend’s daughter just joined her school’s cross-country team for the first time. Although long-distance running is a struggle for her, she was determined to try out, and to her delight, she made the team. Her first long-distance race was a struggle. She was the last person left running her particular course. As she neared the end of the course, she began walking, completely exhausted. This did not last for long, however. As soon as her teammates spotted her from the finish line, they started cheering. “You can do it!” they cried over and over. As soon as the cheering began, her countenance lifted. Her pace quickened, and she ran to the finish line. This is the beauty of encouragement. Encouragement helps us to keep going when we think we can’t go any further. Regardless of what trial or struggle we are facing, encouragement propels us to the finish line.
The book of Acts tells us that the early church was facing a tumultuous time. Acts 11 tells us that persecution was taking place, causing followers of Christ to scatter all across the region. These followers of Christ mainly spread Christ’s message locally to the Jews. Some of the believers went to Antioch, which was a city in Syria, and preached the good news of Jesus Christ to those who were gentiles, not Jewish, and many of them believed. When the church in Jerusalem heard about this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch (verse 22). While in Antioch, he “encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord” (verse 23). This message must have been so important to these believers. The reality of persecution was still very present and must have always been looming in the back of their minds. In light of all God was doing in Antioch, Barnabas reminded them to keep going and to stay true to the Lord.
After we learn about Barnabas’s encouragement, we learn something else about this encourager. “Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith,” verse 24 tells us. The secret to Barnabas’s encouragement was that the Holy Spirit enabled him to live this life of encouragement.
When life is difficult, and we want to quit, we need people in our lives to tell us to keep going. Additionally, we need to do that same thing for other people when they are going through hardship. The Holy Spirit gives us this spirit of encouragement so that we can lift others up.
Who do you know who is facing a difficult time right now? How can you encourage them this week? How can you cheer them on to keep going, even when life is extremely difficult, and they want to give up? Reach out to that person and offer encouragement. Cheer them on, telling them to keep going. If you cannot think of a person, ask God to give you eyes to see people in need of encouragement right now.
Read Acts 11:19-24(NLT)
Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.
When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord.
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