God Didn’t Give You Faith To Keep It Quiet, He Gave It To You To Lift Others Up
Spiritual growth is not just an individual endeavor; it is a community project—where the light inside of us shines outwardly towards others. Best-selling author of Beauty in the Stillness, Karin Hadadan, reminds us of the importance of community in our faith journey with the devotional below.
We not only have a responsibility to expand our spirituality and faith for our own sake but also for others’ well-being, as it should be the natural response to our shared future in Christ.
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
The greatest gift we can give to another is pure love—and the simplest way to express that in everyday moments is to ‘encourage one another and build each other up.’ When we encourage others on their own journey or throughout simple moments in their lives, we come alongside them, offering comfort, support, and a helping hand as they navigate the intense waters of their day.
The hope and confidence we give to someone may end up being the drop of courage, faith, and strength they need to continue walking on the path God laid out for them. When we build each other up, we show others what they do not see in themselves—their gifts, their magnetism, their strengths, and their talents. By affirming these qualities, we give them permission to celebrate themselves and continue showing up in wholeness.
This spiritual construction can happen in simple ways—offering help when someone is in need, supporting someone’s dreams, encouraging them to try new things, bringing them to experiences that we know can benefit them, or simply through affirming words: ‘I see you, I support you, I’m here for you.’
What this leads to is mutual hope and encouragement—for when we give from this place, we also receive it back, just as Paul acknowledges the Thessalonians were already doing. The ways in which we build others up and comfort others often become how they’ll treat us too. Throughout the ebbs and flows of life, we come to realize that we really do need each other to maintain hope, to find strength, and to continue growing. Our words and actions can either strengthen or weaken the spiritual structure of those around us—and God calls us to be builders, not demolishers.
