Enact, enable, encircle, encompass, and encourage. Likewise, “en” is the common prefix in the list.
According to dictionary.com, “dis” is a Latin prefix meaning “apart, asunder, away, utterly; or having a private, negative, or reversing force.” According to the same source, “en” is a Greek prefix meaning “within, in; occurring in loanwords from Greek: energy and enthusiasm.” Please allow me to put this in lay terms as it pertains to the common root word “courage”: “dis” means to separate from courage while “en” means to join together with it.
Ok, back to the reason for this blog (no, it’s not a lesson on the etymology of words - LOL)…
I’ve always marveled at the courage of the Old Testament saints: folks like Abraham, Moses, David, and Joshua. What we see in Holy Scripture is that courage is a gift from God, often bolstered by righteous instruments of God, namely others. Jonathan was a perfect example of this.
Now David became aware that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in God. Thus he said to him, “Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father will not find you, and you will be king over Israel and I will be next to you; and Saul my father knows that also.”
— 1 Samuel 23:15-17
The Apostle Paul is another wonderful example of a terrifically courageous man empowered by the encouragement of godly individuals.
But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition.
— Philippians 2:19
As is often the case, whenever we experience a certain gift from above, we desire to share it with others. For example, Paul spent large amounts of his precious time on earth encouraging others to continue on in the faith, to “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16, 25), as it were.
For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.
— Colossians 2:1-4
One of Paul’s faithful encouragers was Barnabas, “which translated means Son of Encouragement” (Acts 4:36), who epitomized the power of encouragement in the lives of others.
So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.
— Acts 11:19-24
Compare such excerpts from the Bible with the following example of discouragement. The sons of the tribes of Reuben and Gad put their human desires above God’s. In doing so, they requested that Moses allow them to remain in a land which was different than the land promised by God.
[The sons of Reuben and Gad] said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession; do not take us across the Jordan.” But Moses said to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to war while you yourselves sit here?
“Now why are you discouraging the sons of Israel from crossing over into the land which the LORD has given them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. For when they went up to the valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the sons of Israel so that they did not go into the land which the LORD had given them.”
— Numbers 32:5-9
It turns out that the Lord God is not fond of discouragement. He, as our Creator, understands that we are weak in our flesh and that we may fail to accomplish His will; however, if you read the Bible from cover to cover, what you’ll find is that He despises discouraging people. In fact, in this particular account, God curses an entire generation of Israelites for being discouraging to others.
“So the LORD’S anger burned in that day, and He swore, saying, ‘None of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob; for they did not follow Me fully, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have followed the LORD fully.’ So the LORD’S anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the LORD was destroyed.”
— Numbers 32:10-13
I consider the times I have been a discouraging influence to others. Every time, without a doubt, it is because I neglected to do the will of God. That kind of negligence is infectious, like a disease. This is what I’ve learned about the concept of discouragement. It saps others of a healthy viewpoint regarding God’s will. It undermines good things meant for others. It’s cancerous.
On the flip side, I think about those times I’ve encouraged others. The fruit is always amazing. To encourage is to add to the healthy disposition of others. The most effective way, I’ve found, is simply by giving someone Holy Scripture that suits their circumstances. So often we miss the opportunity and give them, instead, our so-called “advice,” which ends up discouraging them in the long run, no matter how good our intentions may be.
Make it a habit to encourage others. Do this enough and you might be surprised by how your own disposition changes. God loves a cheerful giver, right (2 Corinthians 9:7)? To give is to add to. Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). This means that you will be blessed when you encourage others (give others courage, as an instrument of God). That sounds a heck of a lot better than the other option…just sayin’…everyone wins with encouragement, everyone loses with discouragement.
Love in Christ,
Ed Collins
