The Power of One and a Little Encouragement

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Psalm 133:1

This past weekend my husband and I attended a music festival in a large football stadium. Thousands of concertgoers enjoyed the music of various artists.

During the break between acts on Saturday night while the stage crew was preparing for the next performer, the sounds of “Flashlight”, a classic from the 70s group Parliament that gets folks to the dance floor, played in the stadium.

The energy of the crowd had died down as we waited for the next act, but when the music started to play, one man in our section got up and started to dance. He was working it, smiling, having fun and getting down. The folks in our section of the stadium started to encourage him.

“Go, go, go,” we chanted. “Get down. Get down.”

People started clapping and laughing. Then after he finished his dance, a woman in the next section got up and started to dance. Then a man in front of us got up and started doing his thing, all to the applause and encouragement of complete strangers who were in the same place for the same purpose.

Then a woman in our section stood up and tried to start the wave. At first it was just a trickle of folks and it died out. But she persisted in raising her hands and each time more and more people joined her. After more than a half dozen times, the far end of the stadium started the wave and it rippled across the stadium. Then it started again. I looked up and the folks in the “nosebleed” section joined in. The folks on the field took notice and as the wave made its way around again, they joined in. The wave went from one end of the stadium to other, on the field across and back again to where it started.

It was a simple wave, something folks do at football games, but that simple act changed the atmosphere, brought about a sense of accomplishment and community.

As I heard the roar of the crowd as we cheered the wave going around the stadium, I laughed about the excitement and fun of doing the wave  and I thought about the power of one.

One man with unbridled enthusiasm had started something that touched and involved almost everyone in that stadium that night. Even if they didn’t participate, anyone who was there saw the power of a group of people working in unison.

The wave reinforced some lessons for life:

One person can make difference and a little encouragement can go a long way.

One person's enthusiasm can encourage others.

We can accomplish great things when we work together.

Sometimes in life you just have to keep lifting up your hands in praise, even when it seems like what you're doing isn't making a difference.

One man, with encouragement from community, can start a movement that touches lives. But although one person can have a vision, it takes a community to bring it to fruition.

Jesus Christ was one man on a mission. Who would think that this carpenter’s son from a poor background with a motley crew of 12 disciples could turn the world upside down and divide time into B.C. and A.D.? But he did. He was the Son of God. But he gives us the power to do great things. He gives us the power to do what he did when he walked this earth. We can bring wholeness and healing to others. We can be set free and also free others from the bondage of sin.

One man, Jesus Christ, died for the sins of the world. And by encouraging and uplifting one another a community of believers can make all the difference in the world.