A Timely Word

In the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. is a box labeled, Contents of the Presidents Pockets on the Night of April 14, 1865.” As you might be aware, that was the night when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated while he was watching a play at Ford’s Theatre. Inside the box are five items: A handkerchief, embroidered with the name “A. Lincoln,” a county boy’s pen knife, a spectacles case repaired with string, a purse containing a $5.00 Confederate bill, and some old and worn newspaper clippings.

The clippings were concerned with the great deeds of Abraham Lincoln, and one reports a speech in which Lincoln is described as “one of the greatest men of all times.” Such a statement stands in stark contrast to the prevailing attitude many people had of Lincoln during the Civil War. More often than not, he was blamed for the War, and as is so often the case, the newspapers of the time had a field day in pointing out all the problems the nation faced while Lincoln was President. Sadly, one can see Lincoln sitting alone in the White House at night reading under the flickering flame of a candle those few words of encouragement which were written in the midst of a sea of criticism, anger, even hatred. There he was, trying to hold on to a few words that would lift his spirits and help him to press on to see an end to the pain and sufferings of his people.

How we each need to be encouraged! We all need to hear those words, which lift us and make the often difficult road ahead a little easier. The book of Proverbs speaks to this issue when it says, ‘how good is a timely word” (15:23, NIV). The great Bible Scholar, William Barclay, said it well: “One of the highest of human duties is the duty of encouragement…It is easy to laugh at men’s ideals; it is easy to pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it is easy to discourage others. The world is full of discouragers. We have a Christian duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. Blessed is the man (and woman) who speaks such a word.”