Encouraging Words Lift The Heart

Encouraging Words Lift the Heart

Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up. Proverbs 12:25

After former president Richard Nixon resigned from the presidency in shame and humiliation, he had to undergo major surgery. Overwhelmed with his own failures, disappointment, and physical pain from the surgery, Nixon became severely depressed. No doubt he was anxious about the future, knowing that his political career was over. Lying in the hospital bed day after day, he told his wife, Pat, that he wanted to die. But at his very lowest moment, a nurse came into the room, opened the curtains, and pointed to a small plane flying back and forth in front of his window. The plane pulled a sign with bold letters that read: “GOD LOVES YOU, AND SO DO WE!”

Seeing that letter written across the sky and sensing the love and prayers behind it gave Nixon the courage to recover. Later, he found out that Ruth Bell Graham had personally arranged for the plane to fly around the hospital. The former president not only survived but went on to serve both his family and his country, to orchestrate important negotiations between the United States and China, and to make valuable contributions for several years until his death. What strength can come from positive words of encouragement to one who is in the blackest pit of life! Those words—whether spoken or written across the sky—not only cheer the failing heart but are lifesavers to those who receive them. —CHERI

Jesus, instead of joining the crowd that is pointing the finger of judgment at those who have failed or made a mistake, may I join you in cheering their hearts, kindling anew a hope of good things to come. Give me words to speak that will lift up and inspire.

Encouragement after censure is as the sun after a shower.

—JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE (1749–1832), GERMAN WRITER