In the course of any normal day, complications and stress pile up. As we go on day after day, the stress of daily life and pressure can bring us to a point of discouragement. Discouragement can lead to distress and depression. All of us are looking for something to lift our spirits, to elevate us above our circumstances.

Someone said, "Count your blessings," and that's good counsel. We're always better off than we think we are, but there is something we can do for each other that can carry us through the difficulties of life. We can seek to be an encourager.

We can encourage another person by esteeming them more important than ourselves (Philippians 2:3). We do that by giving place in line or letting the other driver have the right of way. We can smile, believing that the other person is having a worse day than we are. We can offer a good word even to total strangers.

People like certain parts of the country because they say people are friendlier there. What is that? It is simply taking the time to acknowledge the existence and presence of another person and speak a good word to them. A simple "Thank you," an extra generous tip, a written note expressing appreciation can all serve to lift another person to a feeling of significance.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that we need to keep getting together with each other and encouraging each other (10:25). Our society is becoming less social every day, even though we have electronic interaction. There is no substitute for face-to-face conversation. Getting together with someone is work and disruptive to our schedules, but there is nothing that can bring encouragement more than a simple personal visit.

To be an encourager, we must first be encouraged ourselves. We can go to and fro seeking another person to encourage us, but the fact is, they may be hard to find. We must determine to be the initiator; that is, bring encouragement to the discouraged.

How do we do that?

All encouragement comes from Almighty God. He is the great Encourager. We can go to God with our need and distress. He wants us to cry out to Him, to ask for help. We are promised grace and mercy from God (Hebrews 4:16). Grace given to us by God becomes our strength to encourage others.

In 1 Samuel 30, David, who was soon to be the king of Israel, found himself in desperate conditions. He and his men had gone off to battle, and while they were gone, some raiders came in and captured all their families and possessions. David's men were so distressed that they were talking of killing him. David had lost his family too, and he was greatly troubled as well.

Scripture tells us that "David encouraged himself in the LORD his God" (1 Samuel 30:6 kjv). David gathered his men, led them to victory, and recovered every family member and all their possessions.

Let us seek the Lord, the great encourager of our souls, and then let us go out purposely to encourage others.