Where is your Barnabas?

​Have you ever been asked, “do you have a Barnabas in your life?”? What people are getting at is do you have someone or a community that is a steady source of encouragement to you? We don’t realize how much life hits us hard and how far even a little encouragement can take us. It’s needed and it’s biblical. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 says, “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.” We don’t always know what season someone is in, but we can find a way to listen to a bit of their story and say an encouraging word. It’s not just saying something to gloss over their pain, sometimes listening is encouragement enough. Sharing our stories with one another lets us see that we all share similar hardships, and we’re not alone in our journey. Let’s strive to be the Barnabas for one another. Remember, he wasn’t born with that name but was given it by the apostles because of how he lifted up and encouraged those around him.