Wanted: Encouragers

I can still remember spring training like it was yesterday. If you’re not familiar with what spring training is, it’s that stretch during March and April when football teams get a few weeks to figure out what their roster might look like for the upcoming season. For ten years of my life—from middle school through college—springtime meant one thing: it was time to get back on the field.

But you know what wasn’t so fun about spring training? There was no Friday night or Saturday game to look forward to. No lights, no crowd, no scoreboard—just more practice. And to be honest? That wasn’t exactly the most motivating thing in the world.

But here’s what I do remember—there was always that one guy on the team. You know the one. The encourager. He was usually the loudest voice at practice, showing up hootin’ and hollerin’, bringing that contagious energy that lifted the whole team. Before long, the energy started to spread—from the linemen to the receivers, from the secondary to the coaches. It changed everything. Practice was always better when the energy was high.

I’ve always appreciated that kind of person—the one who can stir up a crowd, someone who motivates others to do good.

At the beginning of the book of Ezra in the Old Testament, we see God stirring someone up in a powerful way.

“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia…” (Ezra 1:1, NASB95).

And then what happens? Cyrus stirs up an entire nation to go back and begin rebuilding the temple of the Lord.

“Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord…” (Ezra 1:3).

Now look at how the people responded:

“Then the heads of fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites arose, even everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up and rebuild the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem.” (Ezra 1:5)

One man stirred others—because God first stirred him. And the result? A movement of people stepping into what God called them to do.

I think there are a lot of times in our lives when God is trying to stir us up—to go, to serve, to speak, to act. Sadly, we often suppress that stirring.

But here’s the truth: we need more encouragers in the world. We need more people who are willing to stir others up to love and good works.

Maybe that person is you.

— Matt Jones