Proverbs speaks often about how a kind word can lift our spirit. If you have a friend who does this for you, or if people have offered a kind word at the right time in your journey, you know the value of this proverb. It's one way in which an anxious heart can lose some weight.

Most of us know this already. In fact, many of us quickly feel troubled when we think there might be very few people who would be such a friend to us.

Yet if I know that, there is a simple question I should ask myself: To whom am I that kind of friend?

To whose anxious heart do I listen and offer a word of encouragement? To whom do I go to see how they are doing (and not simply wait for them to come to me)? If all of us waited for someone else to be that kind of friend, none of us would ever receive the kind word Proverbs talks about.

And you know what is interesting? The more we step out to be that kind of person for someone else—as hard as it may be, given the weight of our own hearts—the more we feel connected to Jesus, who always reached out to others. And that makes sense, for it's the way of wisdom.

Now, to do it...