A friend of mine texted me last night somewhat out of the blue. We talk every couple of weeks, but considering we had just seen each other last weekend, I was quite surprised to hear from him. The long text contained some specific encouragement for me concerning my life, work, and ministry. He simply felt moved to affirm in me my calling as an actor, writer, and speaker. Normally I would read these types of messages, write back a nice thank you, and move on with my night, but this encouragement was different, because in that moment, it was exactly what I needed to hear.

I asked my friend where this sudden burst of affirmation came from. “I don’t really know,” he said, “I was just thinking about you and all you’re doing.”

That’s the tricky thing about encouragement, isn’t it? It is hard to really point to where the words come from sometimes. Most times I feel like I’m just going about my day when all of a sudden a friend pops in my head and my mind is filled with encouraging words for them. This is not an uncommon occurrence for me and I’m guessing many others. What is even more common though, is how many times I ignore that voice inside that is feeding me the encouragement. So often I let the opportunity pass, or I simply allow myself to forget. Perhaps I’m not alone here.

Letting those opportunities for encouragement pass might seem like not so big a deal. After all, nobody knows that you had something to say and didn’t say it. How could they miss something they never knew existed? But what you might not know, and what my friend didn’t know last night, is that what you have to say might be exactly what that person needs to hear. They may be struggling with something, and you have the exact affirmation they need in that moment.

There is also a chance that they may not need it, and that your encouragement might come as completely random and mean very little to them. But I have never heard of someone losing a friend because they encouraged them too much. But far too often I have heard of friends losing a sense of passion and calling because those around them never took the time to affirm them.

If something is on your heart, if you have some encouragement that you feel moved to give someone, then don’t let that opportunity pass today. You never know, it could be exactly what they need.