Words Worth Repeating

"Therefore encourage one another with these words." — 1 Thessalonians 4:18
 
When someone you love is grieving, do you know what to say?
 
Most of us freeze. We walk into the funeral home, and we don't know what to do with our hands or our words. So we say something awkward, or we don't say anything at all.
 
Look at what Paul does here. He has just finished describing the most dramatic event in human history. The Lord Himself descending from heaven with a shout. The voice of the archangel. The trumpet of God. The dead in Christ rising first, and those of us who are alive being caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air.
 
And then he gives an assignment. He doesn't say, "Now make a chart about it." He doesn't say, "Now argue about it." He says, "Encourage one another with these words."
 
The return of Jesus was never meant to be just a doctrine we debate. It was given to us to comfort hurting people. It's meant to be spoken out loud at a hospital bedside, at a graveside, and at a kitchen table when the chair across from you is empty.
 
And notice he says "these words." Not your words. His words. You don't have to be eloquent. You don't have to have all the answers about why it happened. You just need to point people back to the promise. Jesus is coming. The grave doesn't get the last word. We will be together again, and we will always be with the Lord.
 
Those are words worth repeating.
 
So, who in your life needs to hear them today? Maybe it's a widow who has been alone for a while now, and everybody else has moved on. Maybe it's a friend who just lost a parent. Call them. Write them a note. Read them 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17. Then just sit with them. God will use His Word to do what your words never could.