Proverbs 25:11 (NLV)
A word spoken at the right time is like fruit of gold set in silver.
There are times in our lives
when we get depressed. All of us get
depressed at one time or another although some get depressed more often than
others. I am not referring to clinical
depression where there is some kind of chemical imbalance in the brain leading
to chronic depression, but depression that occurs to all of us from time to
time because of something wrong occurring in our lives. When you think about times of depression in
your life, what helped you to get rid of the depression? Sometimes, it just goes away, sometimes a
good night’s sleep helps, but many times, an encouraging word from someone else
is what you needed. Encouraging words
may be spoken or, perhaps more often, written in an email message or letter. Such words, even a single word, spoken at the
right time compares to a fruit of gold set in silver.
In the Bible gold represents
not only a precious and most valuable metal or gem, but also refers to the
glory of God, that which is pure, rare, special, beautiful and durable. When you think of gold in the Bible you think
of gold being one of the gifts of the three wise men (representing Jesus’
kingship, Matthew 2:11) and streets of golf in heaven (Revelation 21:21). However, the use of the word “gold” (Hebrew
“zahab”) in Proverbs 25:11 figuratively means something that is clear and fair,
like a clear, fair weather day. That’s
what an encouraging word does, make your life seem like a fair weather
day. Silver (Hebrew “keceph”) does not
have the value of gold but still represents something of value and was common
currency in biblical times (Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver). The term “silver lining” is an idiom used to
assume someone that there’s a comforting or hopeful no matter how desperate or
unhappy the situation. So an encouraging
word is like gold that brightens your day and silver that gives you hope.
When is the right time to
speak an encouraging word? There are
times that it is better to be silent (Ecclesiastes 3:7). When you don’t know what to say it probably
is best that you don’t say anything.
Dionysius the Elder wrote: “Let thy speech be better than silence-----or
be silent.” Too often people feel that
they have to say something and that something turns out to be insensitive. For example, people will say “Oh, it’s going
to be okay” when it would be far better to say nothing and just hold a hand or
put your arm around a shoulder. If you
have not experienced what someone is experiencing it is wrong to say “I
understand”. No, you don’t understand so
don’t say anything.
However, most of the time,
saying simple or few words of encouragement---“I care for you”, “I love you”,
“Is there anything I can do for you”---can make a world of difference to
someone who needs to hear these kinds of words.
People who are lonely, discouraged, worried, unhappy, feeling rejected,
unwanted, unworthy always need to hear someone tell them something positive. Proverbs 12:25: “Worry in the heart of a man
weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad”.
Just contacting someone through an email, a phone call or visiting in
person and showing that you care for them makes such a positive impact on
them.
Yet, while we all love to be
encouraged, especially when times are difficult, so few of us actually do any
encouraging at all. Think about
it……..how long has it been since you specifically spoke or wrote an encouraging
word to someone else? When was the last
time to spoke or wrote an encouraging word at the right time to members of your
family, your neighbor, your co-worker, your friends at church, your pastor, and
others you know? Have you ever, out of
the clear blue, written a note of encouragement to someone? You must know how good it feels to receive
encouragement from others, but are you doing it? Someone needs to hear from you today.
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