17 Bible Verses About Encouraging Others

1 Thessalonians 5:11

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

Reflection: Paul writes to the church at Thessalonica after a passage on the day of the Lord, and the “Therefore” points back to verse 10: Christ “died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.” He adds “just as in fact you are doing”, so the church was already doing what he commands.

1 Thessalonians 5:14

“And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”

Reflection: A few lines later Paul gives the whole church four instructions for four kinds of people: warn the idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Encouragement here has a particular object, the person who has lost heart, and it is kept apart from the warning meant for the idle. Verse 15 closes the list: “always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.”

1 Thessalonians 4:18

“Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

Reflection: “These words” are the teaching just given about believers who have died. Paul wrote so that the church would not “grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope” (4:13), and he told them that the dead in Christ will rise and “we will be with the Lord forever” (4:17). The “words” they are to encourage one another with are that teaching.

Hebrews 3:13

“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”

Reflection: The verse before warns against “a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God” (3:12). “Today” comes from the words quoted in verses 7-11, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts”, and the writer turns them into a daily task for the church: each member encouraging the others so that none of them is hardened.

Hebrews 10:24-25

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Reflection: This is the third of three “let us” sentences: draw near to God (10:22), hold to the hope we profess (10:23), and consider how to spur one another on. The encouragement is tied to meeting together, which the writer says some had stopped doing, and it is to increase “as you see the Day approaching.”

Romans 14:19

“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”

Reflection: Mutual edification means building one another up. Paul writes it in the middle of a dispute in the Roman church over food and wine, and the next verses apply it: “Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food” (14:20), and it is better not to eat meat or drink wine than to cause a brother or sister to fall (14:21). In this chapter, building up another believer can mean giving up a freedom for their sake.

Ephesians 4:29

“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.”

Reflection: The verse sits in a list of old habits to put off and new ones to put on (4:25-32). Speech is measured by what the hearer needs: it should be “helpful for building others up according to their needs” and benefit “those who listen.” A few verses later the list ends, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (4:32).

Proverbs 12:25

“Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.”

Reflection: The proverb sets two things side by side: anxiety that weighs the heart down and a kind word that lifts it. The word comes from someone else, which makes the saying a description of what one person’s speech can do for another.

Proverbs 16:24

“Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

Reflection: Verses 21-24 of this chapter are a cluster of sayings about speech, two of which say that gracious words and wise lips “promote instruction” (16:21, 16:23). Verse 24 adds the effect on the hearer: gracious words are sweet like honey and bring healing “to the bones”, to the body as well as the soul.

Galatians 6:2

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

Reflection: The verse before tells those “who live by the Spirit” to restore gently anyone “caught in a sin”, and to watch themselves while they do it (6:1). Carrying one another’s burdens fulfils “the law of Christ.” Three verses later Paul adds that “each one should carry their own load” (6:5).

Romans 12:15

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”

Reflection: The line belongs to a run of short commands that follows “Love must be sincere” (12:9). It asks for both halves: joining another person’s joy as well as their grief. The next verse continues, “Live in harmony with one another” and “be willing to associate with people of low position” (12:16).

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

Reflection: Paul opens the letter by praising “the God of all comfort”, and states the purpose of the comfort he has received: “so that we can comfort those in any trouble.” Verse 6 applies it to his readers: “if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.”

Deuteronomy 3:28

“But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.”

Reflection: Moses had pleaded to cross the Jordan and see the land (3:25), and the Lord refused: “That is enough… Do not speak to me anymore about this matter” (3:26). In place of the journey he is given a task: to commission Joshua and to “encourage and strengthen him”, because Joshua will lead the people into the land Moses will only see.

Joshua 1:9

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Reflection: Here the Lord himself does the encouraging, speaking to Joshua “after the death of Moses” (1:1), and the charge to be strong and courageous comes three times in verses 6, 7 and 9. Each time the reason given is God’s presence: “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you” (1:5), and here, “the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

1 Samuel 23:16

“And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God.”

Reflection: David was hiding in the Desert of Ziph because Saul had come out to take his life (23:15). Jonathan, Saul’s own son, went to him and “helped him find strength in God.” His words are recorded: “Don’t be afraid… You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you” (23:17), and the two made a covenant before the Lord.

Acts 11:23

“When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.”

Reflection: When news of new believers at Antioch reached Jerusalem, the church sent Barnabas, whom the apostles had named “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36). He was glad at what he saw and urged the new believers to remain true to the Lord. Luke describes him as “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith” and adds that “a great number of people were brought to the Lord” (11:24).

Philippians 1:6

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Reflection: Paul writes to the Philippians while “in chains” (1:7), thanking God for their “partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (1:5). The confidence he offers them rests on God, “he who began a good work in you”, and looks ahead to its completion “until the day of Christ Jesus.”