Hang In There

Hezekiah gave encouragement to all the Levites who taught the good knowledge of the LORD.

2 Chronicles 30:22

Motivational expert Ron White tells of being in Navy boot camp. He was tired, intimidated, scared, and hungry. Another sailor who was about to graduate passed him in the hallway and, seeing his fatigued expression, whispered out of the side of his mouth, “Hang in there. . . . You can do it.”

White never learned the sailor’s name, and he never saw him again. But those words shot through him like electricity, and he replayed them each night before going to bed. They revamped his attitude, and he persevered until he finished the program.

On graduation day, White saw three sailors leaning against the wall. They were tired, intimidated, scared, and hungry. Walking over to them, he whispered, “Hang in there. . . . You can do it.” From the expressions on their faces, he knew his words had hit home.^a

In 2 Chronicles 30, Hezekiah encouraged the Levites, who went on to encourage the people to whom they ministered. Encouragement isn’t just a shot in the dark. It’s a chain reaction that passes from person to person until it travels far beyond its point of origin. Has someone encouraged you recently? Pass it on.

The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer everybody else up.

MARK TWAIN