Statistics say that anxiety, fear and depression as well as all of the negative behaviors that accompany these things are at a higher than normal level. Some attributed it to C-19, others say it is WW3 looming, still others say it is related to the financial situation in the nations. Whatever the cause may be, it is something our senior leader at Hope UC Nashville has targeted as something we want to squash in our region. One of the ways we do this practically is with what Dustin calls “Friendship Benches”. These benches are available on our property and if anyone sits on one and one of our members notices them there they go up and talk to them. Our church is open 7 days a week, so we host over 250,000 people a year in various ways in hopes of speaking life all week long to those in our community.

People need words of life spoken over them. My husband says all the time, people hear enough negativity and fear on the news, they do not need to hear it in church. I thought of Pastor Dustin’s vision for our church and my husbands words as I read Proverbs 12 this morning when Solomon says, “Anxious fear brings depression, but a life-giving word of encouragement can do wonders to restore joy to the heart.” Moses said it this way, “Life and death are in the power of the tongue.” What we hear we speak, what other speak we hear. I want to speak life, I want to hear life. I know there is a lot going on in the “world” but if I am not mistaken I am to be in the world but not of the world. So, I have to take the negativity of the world and turn it into words of encouragement for those who hear what I say.

Isaiah 61 says the spirit of the Lord is upon me to…to do what? To bring good news, to bind up broken hearts, to proclaim liberty to captives, to proclaim freedom to prisoners, to declare the favorable year of the Lord, to comfort all who mourn, to give the mourners hope. Then we will rebuild ancient ruins and repair ruined cities. Friends cities are people not places. Let’s get to work on building lives with our words and our actions, for people are the greatest treasure on earth and they need us to be dispensers of encouragement.