Our daughter, Jenny, was a cheerleader and we tried to be at all her games. It was amazing how critical parents and observers were toward their sons trying their best in basketball and football. “Come on, Michael, wake up! What’s the matter with you?”

What an encouragement it was when our son, Nathan, decided to go out for cross country. We attended most of his track meets, but he arose to the occasion with those long distance runs. He, wired like his Dad, learned how to take it easy and pace himself. I would maneuver to key places along the run to cheer him on. He never knew where I’d be, but always knew I was there.

In those years of attending cross country races, I never heard a discouraging word. Even last-place runners get cheers, not jeers. “Go, Nathan, You can do it!” Cross Country just might be the most positive sport out there.

“Pleasant words are…sweetness to the soul and health to the bones” (Proverbs 16:24).

The Christian life is a long-distance run. Its not who starts the race, but who finishes. As fellow believers discipline themselves to run the race, they need encouragement. They need “pleasant words” that bring “sweetness to the soul”.

What are some pleasant words you have received lately?

Trying to find the cause, I watched the chickens more closely; the outcome was quite revealing. When one chick would get a small scratch, another would peck at it. Then the others would follow suit, and before long it seemed that all the chickens were pecking the one chick’s sore. Each time the victim was pecked the sore grew, and more chickens pecked it. Finally, the innocent chicken, who really needed protection from his peers, died.

Now which chicken was the real assassin? Was it the one who made the first peck at the open wound? Or was it the one who made peck #99 or peck #100? Possibly it was the one that made the final peck before the chick’s demise. In any case, the chick died.

By and by more chickens died of pecking. When winter came, there weren’t enough chickens to huddle together and protect each other. They all died. Those cruel cannibalistic chickens! They didn’t realize as they killed each other that they doomed themselves; in a sense they had signed their own death warrants.

The other day I noticed a brother’s flaw; so I pecked at it. I told others, and they followed suit. As the flaw grew in size through our pecking, many others joined in. Instead of giving our brother a band-aid to cover the wound, we exposed it for the world to see. My brother died.

Who was the assassin? By and by there was more pecking, and more brothers died. Eventually I got cold and needed my brothers’ comfort. They were gone; I died.

Oh, those cruel cannibalistic chickens!”

But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! (Galatians 5:15).

“If Beethoven’s Seventh Symphany is not by some means abridged, it will soon fall into disuse” (Philip Hale, Boston music critic, 1837).

“Rembrandt is not be be compared in the painting of character with our extraordinarily gifted English artist Mr. Rippingille” (John Hunt (1775-1848)).

“Flight by machines heavier than air is unpractical and insignificant…utterlyimpossible” (Simon Newcomb (1835-1909)).

“We don’t like their sound. Groups of guitars are on their way out” (Decca Recording Company when turning down the Beatles in 1962).

“You will never amount to very much” (A Munich schoolmaster to Albert Einstein, aged 10).

And on and on it goes. The only thing we can be thankful for when it comes to blowing it is that nobody keeps a record of ours. Or do they? Or do we with others?

“Ever feel like a frog? Frogs feel slow, low, ugly, puffy, drooped, pooped. I know: One told me. The frog feeling comes when – you want to be bright, but feel dull. You want to share, but are selfish. You want to be thankful, but feel resentment. You want to be big, but are small. You want to care, but are indifferent.

Yes, at one time or another each of us has found ourselves on a lily pad floating down the great river of life. Frightened and disgusted, but too froggish to budge.

Once upon a time there was a frog. But he really wasn’t a frog. He was a prince who looked and felt like a frog. A wicked witch had cast a spell on him. Only the kiss of a beautiful young maiden could save him…So there he sat – an unkissed prince in frog form.

But miracles happen. One day a beautiful maiden grabbed him up and gave him a big smack. Crash – Boom – Zap! There he was – a handsome prince. And you know the rest of the story. They lived happily ever after.

So what is the task of the church? To kiss frogs, of course.”

Epaphroditus was commended by Paul as “my…fellow worker…[who] ministered to my need.” What did Paul need? Encouragement! Imagine being rememerbered as the one who encouraged the Apostle Paul! Those with his same spirit instinctively know how to speak “The right word at the right time” (Prov. 15:23). They strengthen the discouraged and comfort the grieving. In fact, we look for them in times of crisis because their very presence “lifts” us.

The Bible is filled with such people. When Moses was overwhelmed, Jethro counseled and supported him ( Ex. 18:1-27). When Paul was alone in prison, Epaphroditus jeopardized his own safety to visit and comfort him (Phil. 2:25-30). Paul also found great strength in Timothy (2 Tim. 4:9), and later in John Mark (2 Tim. 4:11). Every time he went through another trial, God surrounded Paul with people who provided practical help and spiritual sustenance just when he needed it most.

Stay prepared to be an encourager! Who is your greatest encourager?

Discouragement is opposite of faith. Faith says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Discouragement puts doubt in my mind and undermines my faith in Christ.

What has discouraged you lately?

Joseph, better known as Barnabus, gave his brothers a push in Acts 4:36-37 when he sold land that belonged to him and gave the proceeds to the apostles for Kingdom use. That had to have encouraged others to do the same. People just need a push.

When have you received a push from someone else and how did it encourage you?

1. They fly in a “V” formation because it takes 71% less energy compared to flying solo. We Christians need to fly together.

2. The lead goose has the difficult job of breaking the wind barrier, so they rotate leadership. Let’s give someone else a break at church by helping them.

3. Geese honk as they fly. If one drops out and breaks the efficiency equation, the others honk encouragement to the leader. Let’s honk at somebody next weekend.

4. If a goose is hurt along the journey, two others accompany it to the ground to give help. Let’s take care of each other.

What experience do you have with geese and what can we learn from it?

“By the fifth grade, I was bearing all the fruit of a kid who feels insecure, unloved, and pretty angry at life. In other words, I was tearing the place apart. However, my teacher Miss Simon apparently thought that I was blind to this problem, because she regularly reminded me, ‘Howard, you are the worst behaved child in this school!’

So tell me something I don’t already know! I thought to myself, as I proceeded to live up (or down) to her opinion of me.

One time I got so out of hand that she physically grabbed me, shoved me into my desk, tied me to my seat with a rope, and wrapped tape around my mouth. ‘Now you will sit still and be quiet!’ she announced triumphantly. So what else could I do?

Needless to say, the fifth grade was probably the worst year of my life. Finally I was graduated – for obvious reasons. But I left with Miss Simon’s words ringing in my ears: ‘Howard, you are the worst behaved child in this school!’

You can imagine, then, my expectations upon entering the sixth grade, where my teacher was Miss Noé. The first day of class she went down the roll, and it wasn’t long before she came to my name. ‘Howard Hendricks,’ she called out, glancing from her list to where I was sitting with my arms folded, just waiting to go into action. She looked me over for a moment, and said, ‘I’ve heard a lot about you.’ Then she smiled and added, ‘But I don’t believe a word of it!”

I tell you, that moment was a fundamental turning point, not only in my education, but in my life. Suddenly, unexpectedly, someone believed in me. For the first time in my life, someone saw potential in me. Miss Noé put me on special assignments. She gave me little jobs to do. She invited me to come in after school to work on my reading and arithmetic. She challenged me with higher standards.

I had a hard time letting her down. In fact, one time I got so involved in one of her homework assignments that I stayed up until 1:30 in the morning working on it! Eventually my father came down the hall and said, ‘What’s the matter, son, are you sick?’

‘No, I’m doing my homework,’ I replied.

He kind of blinked and rubbed his eyes, not quite sure whether he was awake. He’d never heard me say anything like that before. Finally he shook his head and said, ‘You’re sick!’

What made the difference between fifth grade and sixth? The fact that someone was willing to give me a chance. Someone was willing to believe in me while challenging me with higher expectations. That was risky, because there was no guarantee that I would honor Miss Noé’s trust.”

Do you have any experience with you own little Howard?