Encouraging verses in the Bible are many and varied. A list of some of them can be found below, giving a sense to the wonderful dimensions of the word “encouragement.”
The New Testament of the Bible was originally written in the Greek language of the 1st-century. The word which is often translated “encouragement” is παρακαλέω, which is, in English characters parakaleo. Now, understand that there is a reason for bringing up a language that no one speaks anymore. In the various versions of the Bible, this word, parakaleo, gets translated in different ways. That’s because this is a very rich and robust word, full of great importance for how we ought to be relating to one another as human beings.
To get a feel for how this word is used in the New Testament, Bob went out on the trail sniffing for verses. Here is what he came up with (using the New International Version for our translations, and emboldening the word “parakaleo”):
Matthew 5:4 – Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
In other words, for those who grieve over sin, God will come alongside them and speak words which enable them to be encouraged in their time of lamenting.
Matthew 14:35-36 – People brought all their sick to him and begged him [Jesus] to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
Friends and relatives acted to come alongside their sick family, and they strongly urged Jesus with their words to heal the infirmed persons.
Luke 3:18 – And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.
John the Baptist was walking alongside and with the common ordinary people, and in his coming with them he gave them some strong verbal teaching to embrace the good news of the coming Christ.
Acts 14:21-22 – They [Paul and his companions] preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.
Paul’s mode of operation as a missionary was to verbally call out people to embracing the good news of forgiveness in Christ, and then to come alongside and help them to live out their new commitment to Jesus in a mentoring type of relationship – which is what he did with the New Testament writer, Timothy.
Romans 12:1 – Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
In this case, Paul lays a strong exhortation for the Roman church to lay their entire lives out for God, but he cannot be there himself to follow through. So, he expects the leaders to come alongside and help. He gives a list of such people in the final chapter, Romans 16. Furthermore, Paul was making plans to come to Rome to fulfill his encouragement to them.
1 Corinthians 1:10 – I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.
Paul had a history with the Corinthian church of living and working alongside them, telling them the message of Christ. Now, when he is away, he writes to appeal them to do what he did among them: Get along with each other and stop the divisions. Instead, come alongside one another and encourage each other as one united people of God.
2 Corinthians 1:2-7 – Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
The dynamic Paul was looking for in the church was for people who are in troubling circumstances would receive encouraging words and helpful actions. Then, what the comforted persons received they were to pass on with encouragement to others in trouble. In this way, there is to be a culture of encouragement within every church which exists in the world today.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 – Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 – May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
Hebrews 3:12-13 – See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
Hebrews 10:24-25 – And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Parakaleo, “encouragement” is found throughout the New Testament. Bob and I have only given you a small sample of the word. But, I believe, you get the idea that it involves strongly urging someone to do something with an equal commitment to lovingly come alongside and help. Neither only verbal exhortations lobbed with no help, nor tangible help detached from loving and encouraging words, will do. They both must come together to form a beautiful relationship between one person or one group and another. When this happens, a genuine environment of kindness takes root and flowers into a luscious field of grace and peace.
Being a guy who enjoys reading the New Testament in the Greek language, I want to throw out a nice juicy bone for Bob on the word parakaleo.
Encouragement is a compound word – which means it is two different words put together to create one word. The first part of the word, parakaleo, is “para.” We have a lot of old Greek words in our English language, and this is one of them. You recognize it right away. We use “para” in all kinds of our words. For example, parachute and paramedic tell us something about what’s going. A “para”chute is a chute that “comes alongside” you as you fall from the sky. A “para”medic is a medical professional who “comes alongside” a medical doctor to assist in immediate care before a patient arrives at the hospital. “Para” means to “come alongside” in some helping capacity.
The other part of our word, parakaleo, is “kaleo.” Whereas “para” describes an action, “kaleo” describes a verbal call-out. It literally means “to call out” or to loudly urge someone to do something. So, then, when we smash these two words together, they have the meaning of “urging someone to do something, by coming alongside and helping them to do it.” Notice, please, that the two dimensions must be held together: words and action. We exhort someone toward some action. But we don’t stop there. We come alongside and help them to fulfill what we’re urging them to do. That’s the biblical sense of the word “encouragement” in the Bible.
There’s a lot of encouraging stuff in the Bible. We’ll help you find just what you’re looking for, whether its personal or for someone special who needs a good whiff of biblical encouragement. If you have any questions, let us know. Either leave a comment, or go to the Contact page and get in touch.
We’ll keep digging up more and more great encouraging content for you as time goes on. This page, along with entire site, is still under Bob’s nose. Check in from time to time and see our progress by checking the drop down menu on the home page.
Thanks. We’ll see you on the trail!
