In a crisis, the body's burst of adrenaline can boost the average person's physical abilities, so that a man is able to lift a car off a trapped bicyclist and a mother can fight off a polar bear threatening her son. Author Mark Chanski makes the case that encouragement is able to do emotionally and psychologically for the soul what adrenaline does for the body. While Christians are sometimes reluctant to offer encouragement, we must do so in order to love our neighbors as ourselves. Building on the foundation of the gospel as the ultimate encouragement from God, the author—using quotations, historical references, illustrations, and examples—sets forth the Christian's obligation to offer encouragement and then shows us how we can be encouraging in our families, our churches, and the world in general. "This book brings both relief and instruction. It immediately relieves the imbalance of negativity that so many of us carry around in our souls while also teaching us how to be ministers of joy and encouragement to one another in the body of Christ. These are good things. My dear friend has given us a much-needed breath of fresh air."

—Gary Hendrix, pastor for forty-nine years of Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Mebane, North Carolina "Are you discouraged? Read this book and let God's love in Christ warm your heart with revitalizing truths. And as your soul experiences buoyancy again, remember to be an affirming companion to others—as this book so eloquently urges us."

—Conrad Mbewe, pastor of Kabwata Baptist Church, Lusaka, Zambia