Encouraging One Another: Remember and Repeat

Have you asked for directions and then repeated them to help you remember? I think the older I get, it’s harder for me to memorize and follow directions to a location. In school, we used mnemonic devices, memory aids that can be acronyms, sentences, or rhymes. I remembered the lines on a music staff by “Every good boy deserves fudge.”  Familiar? Now I have to remember the device-one more step.

Today, when I read or study scripture, I look for repeated words. If it’s repeated, it must be an important truth I need to remember, or why repeat it?

One important truth in the New Testament is the phrase “one another”. It’s repeated in different contexts, fifty-nine times. Examples are:

• Be devoted to one another (Romans 12:10)
• Honor one another above yourselves (Romans 12:10)
• Live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16)
• Build up one another (Romans 14:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:11)

“Love one another” (John 13:34) occurs at least 16 times. Click here to look at the others.

Being one for another is important. Today it seems like a foreign concept. In Bible study last week, our discussion noted a lack of humility in our society. We rush to be first in line, or jockey for the lone parking spot when we meet a car coming in from the opposite direction. Beyond that, we often put ourselves first. Rather than take time for a personal note or phone conversation, we rely on quick texts and emails. Even spelling is abbreviated in text.

What about changing direction and instead of an abbreviated text, add ultimate encouraging words found in the Bible? Take an extra step and pen a personal note. Either option can make or break someone’s day. What encouragement might these scriptures offer?

• “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV
• “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 NIV
• “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalm 32:8 NIV
• “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.” Psalm 90:17 NIV
• “Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV
• “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 NIV
• “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27 NIV
• “The Lord is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?”  Psalm 27:1 NIV
• “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”  Psalm 16:8 NIV
• “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NIV
• The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” –Lamentations 3:21-23 (NLT)

Our “one another” circumstances might be serving one another by sending a meal or gift card during an illness. Perhaps it’s building up another by words of affirmation and interest as they pursue goals and projects. Sometimes we bear one another in exercising patience and we might prefer one another and give up that convenient parking space.  But words for one another are for all occasions.

Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:24 NIV

News to share:

Every day in the US 1,000 women become widows. The average age of a widow is 59. With that in mind, I wrote Hope for Widows: Reflections on Mourning, Living, and Change. Our Daily Bread publishing saw the need for support and will release the book on January 2, 2024. . As one widow to another, I share experiences to encourage women as they mourn and lean into life. I also wrote the book “for” them- to support them, hoping those who know and love widows will read it and see  how they can be a “one another” in a dramatic life season, as James 1:27 tells us. The book is available for pre-order on Amazon.

[Tweet “We can offer hospitality of our hearts to one another with our personal words and encouraging words from God’s heart, to a friend facing a challenge or discouragement. We can remember and then repeat.”]

What can you add to the verses above? How have you been the “one another” on the receiving side of encouraging words to meet you where you are?