I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me. Romans 16:1-2

The final chapter of Romans contains a list of fellow Believers that Paul wants the Roman church to welcome into their midst. Most of the reasons he provides is short and sweet. They were obviously important to him, and to be included in the Word of God, they were obviously important to God.

The first Believer Paul commends is Phoebe. Paul notes that because she has helped many people, and that she herself should be helped. If you were Phoebe and read this in that letter, would it encourage you? Absolutely! And you have to know that even if she herself didn’t read that in the letter, several people told her about it. I’m sure she had no clue that 2000 years later people would be talking about her because one man wrote to a church about her.

The application for this verse is simple: encouragement can come in many forms; putting it down on paper is only one of them but it’s a powerful medium.

Encourage one person today. Think about how to go about it, and then do it. You won’t regret it one bit.