Proverbs 12:25 “Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.”

I don’t know about you, but anxiety is an emotion that has been very familiar to me. I  barely have any fingernails to prove it! Circumstances in my life from a very young age kept me living on the edge of my seat. I walked on eggshells, nervously biding every step so as to not break one of the fragile casings.

Anxiety was my status-quo, my normal. So my most seared memories center on the times when something or someone took me out of my normal and lifted the fear. These moments were always met with a comforting, cheering or encouraging word from a friend, or even a stranger.

The kind words would surprise me. Still, I remember them because they were unique and, honestly, they helped. These kind words were a ray of hope in a seemingly dark world.

But do you want to know the best, most kind words I ever heard?

They came from a man named Jesus. I heard them as a little girl while attending vacation bible school.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, emphasis mine).

These kind words of Jesus lifted my spirits and elevated my mood above my circumstances.

Proverbs sets forth what you and I have experienced first hand: Kindness matters.

Jesus sets forth the kind words that you and I want to feel deep in our heart: “God loves you.”

We can lift the heart of an anxious friend with the words we speak. We can go even further and tell them about the kind words of Jesus and how He loved them so much He died so they can go to heaven. That’s a perfect love. And through this perfect love, we can be freed from all our fears and anxiety (1 John 4:18).

Discussion Questions:

Have you experienced a kind word from someone that really helped calm your nerves? Share about the situation and what the person said that helped you.

List some kind phrases and words on your chalkboard for future reference. Try to read them everyday this week to remind you to use them with your friends, classmates or anyone you encounter who may need to be lifted out of their anxiety.

Why do you think anxiety (that fearful, nervous feeling) has such a profound affect on our hearts?

Make a pledge to use kind words to build others up and to never to be the source of fear in someone else’s life.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, thank you for your perfect love. Your kind words of love provide me much comfort and encouragement. Help me encourage others with a kind word. Help me show others compassion through the words I speak. I pray that my kind words inspire others to want to know Jesus as well,

In Your Name,
Amen.