Hearing His Voice #115

When [Barnabas] arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord.

Acts 11:23

There was a priest from Cyprus named Joseph, but the disciples called him Barnabas—which means “son of encouragement.” You don’t get a name like that without encouraging someone. In fact, you probably have to encourage people quite often to earn a reputation for it. We see this pattern in Barnabas throughout the New Testament. He bridged the gap between Paul and the other apostles; he journeyed with Paul to teach, encourage, and strengthen churches; and he defended Mark when Paul rejected him as a traveling companion. In Acts 11, Barnabas was sent to investigate the strange happenings in Antioch, when Gentiles began receiving the Holy Spirit through the ministry of people other than the apostles. While some people—particularly those who mistake a spirit of criticism for the gift of discernment—might have quenched or distracted from the Spirit’s work in Antioch, Barnabas was able to look beyond traditions and expectations and encourage the believers there. In affirming what God was doing, he expressed God’s heart.

We need that. God’s default attitude toward His children is to be encouraging, but encouragement is perhaps the voice of God least heard in the church. Some Christians have learned the art of expressing God’s heart by cheering their brothers and sisters on, but the gift is far too scarce. Why? Perhaps we haven’t tapped into God’s heartbeat as we should, or maybe our own false perceptions have portrayed Him as nitpicky and faultfinding, so we act out what we think we see from our Father. But we need to understand that in the absence of outright rebellion, God is kindhearted and encouraging toward us. That’s how His voice will sound. We can assume that the oppressive, accusing, critical voice we so often hear is coming from some other place. When God speaks, it will almost always be encouraging.

Father, let me hear Your encouragement often, and give me opportunities to share it with others. Let me be an expression of the goodness, kindness, and gentleness of Your heart.