Booster words

Exhort one another daily. – Hebrews 3:13

Booster shots – think of the benefits! They are part of a complete program of vaccinations that protect us against threatening diseases.

Booster words – ever heard of them? They are words we say to help others in the fight against discouragement and despair.

In his book Secrets From The Mountain, Pat Williams tells of an experiment with a group of students. They were told that scientist had proven that brown-eyed children were smarter than blue-eyed students began doing better in school. A few days later, though, the students were told that they had been misinformed, and it was the blue-eyed youngsters who were actually smarter. Quickly, the scores of the blue-eyed children rose above those of their brown-eyed classmates.

Lying to children is never right, but the study demonstrates that words have the power to influence behavior. Paul recognized this, so he sent Timothy to the church at Thessalonica to encourage the believers in their faith – and his words did just that (1 Thessalonians 3:2-3, 6).

Do we "exhort one another daily"? (Hebrews 3:13). Like Timothy, do we bring comfort and encouragement to the people we know? Try using some booster words today. – J. David Branon

Putting it into practice

Think of someone who needs encouragement.

How can you help that person today?

Make a phone call, send an e-mail, or pay a visit.

READ: 1 Thessalonians 3:1-10

Hope can be ignited by a spark of encouragement.