"... Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them." -Ephesians 4:29
I love word study, or tearing a word apart to understand it better.
I did that today with a friend.
Dig into the word "encouragement" and find the treasures. It is not flippant to encourage each other. It is an intentional act of building another person up.
"En"... to cover like a shield or pour into.
"Courage" - we know what courage is when we see it. We forget it is not something most people seek out. Courage, often, happens when it is the only viable option. Watch a mother stand up to a threat when her child is threatened. She doesn't sign up for a course in courage... she stands up to the threat.
"...ment" at the end of a word makes it a noun, but it can also imply action.
"Encouragement" is found 11 times in the ESV version of the bible. and 17 times in the NLT.
"Encourage" is even more frequent. I did not have time to take a dive into the Greek and Hebrew roots. "Encouragement" is more prevalent in the New Testament. That makes it worth putting on my "words to study" list.
"Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other." -Romans 15:32
So much help and hope in this verse. Savor it. Live it. Breathe it. So grateful I had a chance to unpack it with a friend today. <3
Today, I am grateful for encouragement.
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