Encourage the Fainthearted
Encourage the Fainthearted
Today I would like to speak to you about a beautiful spiritual principle mentioned by Saint Paul the Apostle in his First Epistle to the Thessalonians, where he says: “Encourage the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient with everyone” (1Thessalonians 5:14).
Encourage the Fainthearted
There is no doubt that God loves the strong and desires every believer to be strong in his battle against Satan—strong in faith and spiritual struggle—and He grants blessedness to those who overcome and are victorious. Yet, at the same time, with great love, He encourages the fainthearted, supports the weak, and is patient with them.
Indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ placed such fainthearted souls at the forefront of those He came to serve. Concerning Him, the prophecy of Isaiah says: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound… To comfort all who mourn”
(Isaiah 61:1–2).
Thus, His mission was directed toward the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, the prisoners, and those who mourn. And what does He do for them? He says: “To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isaiah 61:3).
This is the Lord Jesus Christ of whom it was said, in His encouragement of others: “A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench” (Matthew 12:20).
He gives hope even to such people, breathing into the smoking wick so that it may one day be kindled again and give light to others.
Thus, when Joshua the high priest stood clothed in filthy garments and Satan stood opposing him, “The Lord said to Satan, ‘The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?’” And He commanded that Joshua’s filthy garments be removed and that he be clothed with rich, clean robes (Zechariah 3:1–5).
Our teacher Paul the Apostle also shows concern for the fainthearted when he says: “Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also” (Hebrews 13:3). And the Lord says: “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones” (Matthew 18:10).
He Himself cared for all the fainthearted He encountered, including sinners and tax collectors. Even the woman caught in the very act of adultery—brought to Him in utter humiliation, demanding that she be stoned—He rescued from their hands. He did not shame her, but said to her lovingly:
“Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:11).
The Lord’s way is to build broken souls, not to crush them.
Therefore He declared His loving and encouraging words: “I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47).
We see Him leaving the crowds and standing before a sinner—Zacchaeus the chief tax collector—encouraging him with words of love: “Today I must stay at your house.” And He even says: “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:5, 9).
He shows him that no matter how great his sins, they do not prevent salvation, and that no matter how bad his reputation, it does not prevent the Lord from entering his home.
In His encouragement, the Lord keeps the door of salvation open to everyone.
Even the thief on the right, in the final moments of his life as he hung on the cross, heard the Lord say to him:
“Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
And with the Samaritan woman, the Lord saw something good in her despite her sinful life, and encouraged her, saying: “You have spoken well… what you have said is true” (John 4:17–18).
He is the good-hearted One, the One whose word is always kind. From His mouth comes no condemnation, but words of blessing. Truly, “His mouth is sweetness itself; He is altogether lovely” (Song of Songs 5:16).
Look at His beautiful attitude toward Peter the Apostle after Peter denied Him three times. Peter’s soul was deeply embittered, and he wept bitterly. Yet after the Resurrection, the Lord appeared to him and did not utter a single word of rebuke. Instead, He encouraged him, saying: “Feed My lambs… Feed My sheep” (John 21:15–16).
And Thomas the Apostle, when the Lord found him doubting the Resurrection—insisting that he must see and touch the wounds or he would not believe—the Lord did not rebuke him. Rather, He appeared to him, supported his weakness and lack of faith, fulfilled his request, and said to him: “Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
This has always been the Lord’s way—from the very beginning, from Adam and Eve.
Adam was brokenhearted, fearful, hiding among the trees after his fall, not daring to face God. Yet God, in His way of encouraging the fainthearted, went to him, called him, opened dialogue with him, and promised that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head.
When the Lord saw the faintheartedness of Jonah the prophet, whose soul was deeply troubled and who asked for death, saying, “It is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:3), the Lord did not abandon him in his weakness. He caused the plant to grow to shade him, remained with him until He reasoned with him, delivered him from his grief, explained His compassion toward the people of Nineveh, and saved Jonah as He had saved them.
And when the Lord saw Elijah the prophet afraid of Jezebel, thinking he was alone after the prophets had been killed and that his life was sought to be taken, the Lord spoke to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He sent him help, strengthened him, told him that seven thousand knees had not bowed to Baal, and commissioned him to anoint others to end the corruption of idolatry (1 Kings 19).
The phrase “Encourage the fainthearted” is filled with tenderness.
But who are the fainthearted whom we are called to encourage?
They are the fallen, the despairing, the unsuccessful, children, sinners, the fearful—those whose souls collapse, grow weak, and lose confidence in their ability to rise again.
These we must not condemn, expose, mock, ridicule, or treat harshly. Rather, we support their weakness with encouragement.
It is said of Saint Abba Isidore, priest of Scetis, that whenever some fathers expelled a sinner and despaired of him, Abba Isidore would take him in, be long-suffering with him, and remain with him until he raised him up from his sin. He did this with Moses the Black, who in the early days of his life was fiercely attacked by the enemy—so much so that he came to Abba Isidore eleven times in a single night. Through the patience of his spiritual father, he was transformed into a great saint.
Do not despise the insignificance in a person; rescue him from it.
Be a saving hand to the weak, a word of hope to the despairing, and open a window of light for those lost in darkness. Do not be harsh or judgmental. Do not rebuke someone for a fall, but help him rise from it. Do not mock another’s weakness; rather, take him by the hand and lift him up.
Moses the prophet was “slow of speech and slow of tongue” and considered himself “not eloquent.” He excused himself from God’s mission for this reason, yet God encouraged him and gave him Aaron his brother to be his spokesman. And the one who claimed he could not speak came to be called “the one who spoke with God.”
Jeremiah the prophet was young, and his soul was faint because of it. He said to the Lord, “I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” But the Lord did not allow him to surrender to his weakness. Instead, He encouraged him, saying: “Behold, I have made you this day a fortified city and an iron pillar and bronze walls against the whole land… They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you” (Jeremiah 1:6, 18).
And Joshua the son of Nun, whose soul grew faint after the death of Moses and who felt overwhelmed by the responsibility, was encouraged by the Lord, who said: “Be strong and courageous… No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life.
As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you… Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:6, 5, 9).
These are the Lord’s encouraging words. Often He encourages through His promises or through help He sends to strengthen a person.
This encouragement was also the work of the prophets and a constant theme in the Psalms.
How abundant is the encouragement Scripture offers to sinners! It says that the Lord washes their sins until they become whiter than snow; that He forgets them and remembers them no more; that as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us—because He knows our frame and remembers that we are dust (Psalm 103).
Scripture also says: “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise” (Micah 7:8). And: “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again” (Proverbs 24:16).
When David the prophet saw the army terrified before Goliath, he encouraged them, saying: “Let no man’s heart fail because of him” (1 Samuel 17:32).
He encouraged them not only with words, but also with strength—through his own courage.
Nehemiah stood with the weak, crushed, and despairing people and encouraged them to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem—not with words alone, but by sharing in the work himself.
And when Moses the prophet saw the people’s souls crushed under Pharaoh’s bondage and increasing oppression, he encouraged them by confronting the situation himself, and he said to them: “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord… The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:13–14).
The Church encouraged martyrs and confessors in places of martyrdom—even during trials and in prisons. How many writings the Fathers composed urging steadfastness unto martyrdom, and how many mothers encouraged their children to accept death!
Even small and humble efforts received encouragement.
The Lord Jesus did not praise only the seed that yielded a hundredfold or sixtyfold; even the one that yielded thirtyfold He called good seed.
May we walk in the way of Christ and encourage everyone, just as He does.
