Christian Foundations
DEVOTIONAL ARCHIVE
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
--Ephesians 4:29
Jean Nidetch was a 214-pound woman who badly wanted to lose weight. In her desperation, she went to the New York City Department of Health, where Dr. Norman Jolliffe gave her a diet to follow.
But after two months of weight loss, Jean was still discouraged knowing she had 50 more pounds to go. So she invited six overweight friends into her home to share the diet and talk about ways they could help each other stay on it.
Today, almost 50 years later, over one million members attend 25,000 Weight Watchers meetings in 24 countries each week. Nidetch tells an interesting story about how she has helped millions take control of their lives.
When she was a teenager, she used to walk through a park where she saw toddlers sitting on the swings with no one to push them while their mothers gossiped nearby.
Nidetch said, “I’d give him a push. …Pretty soon he’s pumping, doing it himself. That’s what my role in life is—I’m there to give others a push.”
Are there people in your life who need that extra push? In Ephesians 4:29, the Apostle Paul encourages us to say things that will build up and encourage those around us—not tear others down.
Not only can your kind words encourage another believer, they can also be a testimony of your faith and joy in Christ Jesus to someone who is lost without Him. Think of someone in your life who may be living under a heavy emotional load, or someone who is weary of life’s problems and struggles.
Whoever God lays on your heart, determine today to give them that extra push they need!
PRAYER CHALLENGE: Pray that God would give you the opportunity to encourage someone who needs it and offer kind words to those around you.
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