Barnabas's brother

In the Lord I take refuge. How then can you say to me, "Flee like a bird to your mountain...”?  Psalm 11:1

A favourite Bible character of mine is Barnabas, whom we meet mainly in the Acts of the Apostles. He isn't one of the Bible's “stars” - he isn't up there with David or Moses or Paul or Peter. But he is an important person all the same; and the reason I like him is because of the nickname he earned in the early church: “Barnabas” means Encourager.

Encouragement... It’s one of the greatest things you can offer your fellow-Christians, indeed anyone. A simple word of thanks or praise can change someone's whole day - yes, really! A little behind-the-scenes support of what someone is doing can mean the difference between success and failure. A positive, cheerful and optimistic spirit can lift a whole group - including a church.

Are you a Barnabas, I wonder?

You might give a long list of all the things you can’t do - teach children, play an instrument, lead a house-group, preach, visit the sick. Fine. But it’s hard to think why anyone is incapable of being an encourager. Yes, even you!

Sadly, though, Barnabas has a brother, even though he isn’t mentioned explicitly in the Bible. His name, as you might guess, is Discourager. He or she is the person who goes round spreading gloom and despondency, always seeing the worst rather than the best, for ever finding faults and problems, difficulties and impossibilities.

And here in Psalm 11, sure enough, is Barnabas' brother.

The writer is obviously having problems with him: "How can you say to me, 'Flee like a bird to your mountain?' " In other words, How can you tell me to run away? Oh yes, it's something I really feel like doing. But what sort of faith in God would that show! How would it help? How can you urge me, in effect, to give up! Go away - leave me alone!

I imagine every one of us has felt from time to time the desire to run away, to stop fighting and trusting, to throw our hands in the air, to close our eyes, curl up into a ball and hope that next time we open them our problems will have gone away. Of course! We’re only human, after all.

But it isn't the answer. Problems need to be confronted, difficulties overcome, with a combination of heart-felt prayer, hard work, simple faith and sheer perseverance. Spiritual stickability, I sometimes call it.

The Psalmist may well be wobbling a bit, but he has got the right idea. "In the Lord I take refuge," he says - as if to say, I can curl up in God, thank you very much, so I don't need to be running away. In verse 4 he declares, "The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne" - as if to say, I know it doesn't seem particularly like it at the moment, but God is in control. So why should I give up? And how dare you tempt me to!

The plain fact is that the voice of Barnabas's brother is the voice of the devil. He loves to discourage God's people, whether individually or as a church. And the business of each of us, as followers of Jesus, is to send him packing.

Isn’t that exactly what Jesus did?

I’m sure Simon Peter meant well when Jesus grimly prophesied that he was going to be killed. He protested: “No, Lord, this shall never happen to you!” (Matthew 16:22). This, surely, is the voice of a friend! Well, perhaps it is; but a misguided friend - and it doesn’t stop Jesus replying quite savagely: “Get behind me, Satan!"

Psalm 11 isn't very long. Why not take a few minutes to read it right through and to ponder its message? And if you are feeling discouraged today - well, I hope everyone reading this will join in praying that God will send you a Barnabas.

Shall we all do that right now...?

Lord God, draw close right now to anyone feeling discouraged and low. And help me always to be a true encourager to everyone I meet. Amen.