I was at a Pastors training a couple years back. It was something I went to once a month, and it required lots of work. There were books to read, reflection and self-examination of my own habits and leadership practices. It was an awesome time, but also a challenging one.
At the end of one of these day long trainings, the pastor who was leading it, walked up to ask me how I was doing. We talked for a moment, and he said the simple phrase, "I am really proud of you Daniel, you're doing a really awesome job." I threw out my normal response by sheepishly thanking him, not sure how to respond.
But on the inside, something pretty significant happened. His statement rocked me. It totally threw me off how much his simple sentence had affected me. When he said, "He was proud of me." It was as if I won the lottery, or that he had opened a door for me that would lead to good fortune.
I wasn't in a place of being particularly low, but his words had clearly hit a chord with me.
In the end, I think what happened was, I experienced what it feels like when someone you respect and look up to speaks life into you. This leader, this pastor, said he saw something great in me, and he told me he thought that I had what it takes.
His words held power, and he used that power to lift me up, to encourage me, and to propel me forward.
Proverbs 18:21a says "The tongue has the power of life and death."
Regardless of where you are in life, what you do, how old you are, what you have accomplished, there are people that look to you and see someone they look up to.
You hold the power to encourage them, to propel them forward, to speak life into them.
Your words hold power, use that power to build others up. You would be surprised what your simple words of encouragement will do for them.
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