Be A Barnabas Project (Part 2 of 10)
Here’s how things are going to go over the next several weeks. I’ll include a “Snapshot of an Encourager” and 10 More Ways To Be An Encourager until we reach 100 Ways To Be An Encourager.
Snapshot of An Encourager:
Anonymous Givers
Like many couples, when my wife and I were newly married, we barely had enough to make ends meet. Sometimes the money ran out before the month did.
But from time to time, the Lord would encourage us through an anonymous giver.
I’ll never forget when our first child was due. You know how it is with the first child. Everything has to be perfect. I remember there was a trusted doctor we had to have for the birth of our baby girl. He was the very best.
The only problem is that he had a policy that all of his services, including delivery, had to be paid in advance in order for him to perform the delivery. We found out this news about two weeks before our due date. To be honest, we panicked at the notion of some other random doctor delivering our first child.
After insurance, we were going to have to pay $800 in advance of the birth in order for our preferred doctor to do the delivery.
It might as well have been a million dollars. Things were that tight.
We had zero resources for such an unexpected bill. We didn’t tell anyone. We just prayed.
Within a few days, a couple of strange things happened that I will never forget.
First, my wife went to the mailbox the next day and there was a check from her uncle for $300. To my knowledge, that was the only time I ever remember him sending money in our entire married life (just didn’t want anyone to think it was a regular occurrence).
The next day, something even stranger happened. I was putting the finishing touches on the baby room when I happened to notice something on one of the shelves out of the corner of my eye. There on that top shelf was a stack of five $100 bills! To this day, I have no idea who put it there. Whoever it was preferred to remain anonymous.
Again, we will never forget that moment. It was a lesson in God’s provision because he provided the exact amount that we needed within a few days of our crisis of belief.
But it was also a huge reminder of how a well-timed anonymous gift can be a life-changing blessing. It certainly changed ours.
Giving anonymously is a beautiful embodiment of what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:3, Jesus said, “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”
Obviously, it would have been a great blessing even if we had known the giver. We would have been forever grateful either way.
But there’s something truly special when you don’t know the origin of the gift. There’s a God quality to the gift. You know that the Lord is providing by placing a burden on the heart of another individual to help in your time of need. Instead of the individual receiving credit, the Lord gets the glory.
We never made a lot of money as a ministry family (no one goes into the ministry for the money), and things became even more challenging when my wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis right before our third child was born. For many years, we were a single income family.
But the Lord always provided for our needs, and he frequently used anonymous givers to help in critical moments.
I remember there was a couple of years where once a month we would receive a letter with no return address and in it there was a $100 gift certificate to a local grocery chain. Or we would have a very expensive car repair and when it came time to pay the bill the mechanic politely informed us that someone had already paid the bill.
As I sit hear recalling all the times someone anonymously met a need I can’t help but get emotional.
From someone who has received this blessing, let me say that when you give in this way you are being the hands and feet of Jesus and you are storing up for yourself treasures in heaven.
10 More Ways To Encourage: (11-20)
Let someone know that you have been praying for them.
Catch someone doing something good and compliment them on it.
Leave encouraging notes to your spouse in random places.
Be an anonymous giver to someone in need (grocery gift cards, etc.)
Celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, accomplishments, etc., of your friends on social media.
Adopt A Senior Adult at an Assisted Living Center or Rest Home (staff can help let you know of people who rarely receive visits)
Share a meaningful and uplifting song to encourage a friend in their time of crisis.
Share a Bible verse with a friend who is going through a difficult time.
Do a helpful chore for a neighbor (rake leaves, mow grass, etc.)
Stand up for a friend if you ever get in a setting where others are talking negatively about them behind their backs. (Your friend may never know what you did for them but it’s a Barnabas thing to do)