Encouragement means giving someone a boost of courage when they’re feeling weak or unsupported. It lifts another person and gives them the confidence they need to press forward and finish what they started.

Discouragement, on the other hand, strips people of that desire. It drains their motivation and leaves them feeling like there’s no point in going on.

So when someone is discouraged, what they need most is someone who will come alongside them and remind them to keep going.

That can look like a phone call, a letter, an email, a text, a visit, a kind word, or even a simple prayer. You have the ability to help someone make it through their day, and maybe even through one of the hardest seasons of their life. When you go out of your way to encourage someone, you may never fully see the impact, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

You carry more power in this world than you realize. Use it for good. “Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)