Pat Morley wrote, “Encouragement is food for the heart and every heart is a hungry heart.”
Encouragers pour hopeful words and bright smiles into the dull, overcast moments of life. Do you know where we get our English word encourage? It comes to us from fifteenth century France and is the combination of two words – en – meaning “to put into” and – corage – meaning “heart.” In Western thought, the heart has long been viewed as the seat of emotions and represents our inner most feelings. Literally, then, the word encourage means to put or pour into the heart.
Isn’t that a great picture? So, when a friend is brokenhearted, you can speak words of comfort into their lives. When a co-worker is down-hearted, you can come along side to help. When a family member is disheartened you can pour hope into their hearts. It has been said that “a word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success.” When you are discouraged, remember these reassuring words from the Lord in Isaiah, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.”