One of my favorite verses is 1 Thessalonians 5:11: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” The words build up make me think of the children’s song about the Wise Man and the Foolish Man. The wise man builds up his house on the rock and the foolish man builds his on the sand. The rains come and the house on the rock stands, but the house on the sand goes splat. We use that song in Bible class and Sunday school to teach our children that the foundation you build upon is equally as important as building up the house. They love to sing that one and the fun hand motions that go with it.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Paul wasn’t speaking about building an actual house, but building up each other. Paul wrote these words in response to information he had received through Timothy about the faithfulness of the church in Thessalonica.  Paul was familiar with the Thessalonians from a previous missionary journey to the region in which severe persecution and opposition forced him to leave abruptly. His personal experience with persecution there and information from Timothy prompted Paul to grow concerned about this group of believers.


Fortunately, Paul learns through Timothy that while the church in Thessalonica was indeed experiencing persecution, the church overall was doing well. So Paul was writing this letter in part to encourage them to continue in the faith in spite of the real threat of death and horrific oppression they were enduring. It’s interesting that in the midst of suffering and loss, Paul’s advice is to continue encouraging one another and building each other up. He doesn’t tell them to take up arms or slander those who are giving them such a hard time. Instead, he reminds them where their strength comes from and urges them create unity, not division.

In the previous few verses, Paul tells them to hold on to the hope of eternity with God through Jesus and now in verse 11 he’s urging them to encourage and support each other on earth in their daily struggles. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and his own experiences, he knew that they needed both.

Like all the key truths of Scripture, this advice from Paul to Timothy is still true for all of us today. As we navigate a world that is constantly trying to pull us away from Jesus, we need to be encouragers. Sometimes it’s obvious who is in need of encouragement, but there are plenty of interactions with others which don’t reveal the anxiety, fear, and overwhelming feelings which lie hidden beneath the surface. That’s when we need to finetune our Holy Spirit antennae to be aware of the hurt happening all around us and then step into it as light-bringers.

It doesn’t always have to be anything extravagant. It can be as simple as telling someone they’re doing a great job and to keep at it. Reminding others of the hope we have in Jesus may seem inconsequential to the person speaking it, but it can be a life preserver to the one who feels like he’s drowning in worry and defeat. Be an encouragement to someone today!