- Friday, September 7th, 2007
The Need for Encouragement - September 2007
September 1, 2007
Gentlemen,
We all need it, and yet there never seems to be enough to go around. It takes so little time to say, and yet criticism seems to come easier. It provides hope to complete a difficult task, and without it we would give up. What is it? Why, I’m speaking of that small, simple sounding word, encouragement!
Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines encouragement as, “ENCOURAGE - To give courage to; to give or increase confidence of success; to inspire with courage, spirit, or strength of mind; to embolden; to animate; to incite; to inspirit.” The bottom line is that encouragement gives another the strength and courage to continue on in the battle, or to complete a task. For me, I can live for weeks on an encouraging word from my wife, child, supervisor, or co-worker.
Encouragement provides energy! Joshua was going to need this as he entered the Promised Land and conquered the enemies before him. No fewer than four times in Joshua chapter 1, God, Joshua’s fellow officers, and the people themselves tell Joshua to “be strong and of a good courage.” Why? Because as their leader he was going to need this energy during the hard times of battle and the inevitable struggles that come from leading approximately three million people!
So how does encouragement work itself out in real life? Let’s look at three groups of folks and their need for encouragement.
First, consider our wives; they have the most difficult job in the home. They must manage everything from the mundane chores that keep things running smoothly to the high calling of supporting their husband, and if you home school, the training up of the next generation. They can feel isolated without feedback from us as husbands on how they are doing. Their jobs may be thankless, but when a husband notices how clean the house is, praises his wife for the clean clothes in the drawer, or the clean sheets on the bed, watch how her eyes brighten. I know this is true in my family! Without encouragement to stay in the daily battle, it would be easy for our wives to give up or cease striving for excellence. A discouraged wife soon looks for ways to bring her husband down and may even begin to nag at the children. It is our duty, responsibility, and privilege as husbands to provide encouragement to our wives!
Second, our children look to see if they are pleasing us by their actions, words, and attitudes. A word of encouragement, spoken at the right time gives them the affirmation they are looking for. It has been said that the persons who praise your children will win their hearts and affections. One of our goals in the ALERT Cadet organization is to assist fathers in winning and keeping the hearts of their children. I can think of no two better ways to do this than to spend focused time with our children and then to encourage them when they are doing what we have asked. The flip side to this is that I am very good at pointing out their faults. As an exhorter I see nearly every interaction as a teaching time which must end with action points; this is not a good environment for encouragement! It is too easy to tear down this way, rather than to build up. Try encouraging your children, and you will be surprised at their creativity in trying to please you.
Lastly, those in our ALERT Cadet unit also need a word of encouragement. This usually happens at the quarterly “fathers” meetings” or at the end of each unit meeting. I know that I looked forward to just talking with other dads to hear what is going well in their families and what wasn’t. In some cases, a father was being too hard on his son or expecting him to do something that he may have not been capable of. As a help to proper encouragement, here are some guidelines:
* When considering promotions for the young men, look at their character. It does not have to be perfect, just up to a standard where a younger man could look up to them and see an appropriate example of good character.
* Award achievement when it occurs. This means having a stock of ribbons and awards on hand so that when a father or son completes a Phase booklet, or attends a camp, he can be awarded at the very next meeting.
* Have fathers and sons who earn the Personal Service ribbon be sure to share what they have done in service to others. I’ve always found their stories to be a great encouragement to me and a motivator to “love and good deeds!”
* Put up a chart in your meeting location to show the progress of each father and son through their handbooks. I know this was a gentle reminder to me to make steady progress and it provided the needed “encouragement” to memorize Scripture in a timely manner!
Without encouragement I would shrivel up and be a bitter person. Sometimes, as with King David, I have to pour out my soul to God, who then is my encourager, or who sends someone to encourage me. May I also encourage you to be an encourager to those around you, not in a fake sort of way, but with a genuine word of encouragement for a character quality, a job well done, or a positive attitude in a difficult circumstance.
May God continue to bless your efforts as you seek to raise your sons to be “Strong to Overcome” the evil one!
In Christ,
Maj. Roger D. Farr
ALERT Cadet Commanding Officer and Program Director
Sep 07
