“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” – Proverbs 18:21
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” – Ephesians 3:20-21
Scripture Reading: Acts 9:26-28, 15:35-41
Someone recently asked me for an update on a prayer request. I was pleased to provide a good report, as I had seen God working in this situation. My friend responded with, “Well, I hope it works out, because…” What came after the “because” made my heart sink. And with just a few words, my friend casually slapped a “hopeless” label on someone that was near and dear to both of us.
Over the next few days, those words stayed with me. I tried to dismiss them. I chalked it up to a bad day, fatigue, stress, and even hormones, either on the part of my friend or maybe on my own part. But either way, I couldn’t shake the feeling that my faith (and our mutual friend) had been damaged. When I finally took my hurt feelings to the Lord, I realized two things – 1) faith can be fragile, and 2) real encouragement is hard to come by.
You can’t talk about real, biblical encouragement without talking about Barnabas. He was such a sincere encourager that the early church actually changed his name from Joses to Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36-37). In a time when faith was really fragile and the church was just getting its footing, Barnabas shored up individual converts and whole congregations with his words of faith (Acts 13:42-44).
When the disciples had trouble believing that Paul (formerly Saul of Tarsus, who had once hunted and imprisoned Christians) was suddenly their new best friend, Barnabas stood by Paul and vouched for him (Acts 9:26-28). Later, when Paul himself had trouble believing that young John-Mark (who would one day author the Gospel of Mark) was worth discipling (Mark had once abandoned Paul and Barnabas in the middle of a missionary journey to return home), Barnabas stood up to Paul, in favor of encouraging Mark. It came down to a parting of the ways for Paul and Barnabas, with Barnabas taking Mark to Cyprus, while Paul took Silas on his next journey (Acts 15:35-41), but Paul would eventually admit that Mark was worth the investment (II Timothy 4:11).
We could all use a little more Barnabas in our lives – we need to be a Barnabas, and we need to find a Barnabas who will help us nurture our fragile faith with words of encouragement. But there was more to Barnabas than just kind words. Barnabas had the ability to see the God-given potential in a person. When the disciples saw a cruel, malicious persecutor in Paul, Barnabas saw the man that God had changed on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). When Paul saw an immature and unreliable young man in John-Mark, Barnabas saw a growing Christian who could learn from his mistakes and lead others to Christ.
How did Barnabas do it? I don’t think he necessarily trusted Paul or John-Mark any more than anyone else. He had seen both of these men at their worst, but I believe that Barnabas made a conscious decision to trust what God could do in these men (Psalm 9:9, 55:22, Proverbs 3:5-6, 30:5, II Corinthians 5:17).
The challenge for us is to take a second look at the “hard cases” in our lives – the ones who never listen, the ones who have let us down tremendously, the ones who seem as though they’ll never change. Instead of viewing them through your past experiences with them, view them through your experiences with God (Psalm 34:4, 66:6-19). Then, speak to them, about them, and in prayer for them through the promises of God’s Word (Joshua 1:9, Romans 15:13, Ephesians 3:17-21, 4:29, II Timothy 1:7, 12).
Understand that your words have weight. Be a believer in the life-changing potential of God. Be a believer in the plans and promises of God. Be an encourager, and use the weight of your words to tip the scales in the right direction.
YOUR PRESCRIPTION
Is there a seemingly hopeless situation or a person that has been on your heart? Ask God to encourage you with His promises and to help you to be a Barnabas and to find a Barnabas who can pray with you. God wants to do more than you can imagine – both in you and through you.
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