It’s something we all face from time to time. The things that we’ve planned and worked for just aren’t happening; the people we thought loved or at least accepted us turn against us; the prayers we have been praying so long and so hard don’t seem to even reach the ceiling, much less getting answers.
Discouragement sets in. We wonder whether we got it right in the first place: were we, perhaps, following our own desires rather than the will of God? Was the word from the Lord that we thought we heard so clearly really only the echo of our own hopes and dreams?
Alternatively, we wonder whether we have done something to block the flow of God’s answers to us. Have we sinned? Have we failed to fulfill our part of the contract, to do the things that we can do so that God is free to do the things that only He can do?
As a result we lose heart. We find it harder and harder to keep putting in the effort, to keep putting one foot in front of the other, when all we seem to be achieving is to walk in ever-decreasing circles.
It’s an interesting word, discouragement. Dis-courage-ment. The removal of courage. That’s exactly what it does to us: saps our courage, our boldness, our strength. The more we come under discouragement, the weaker we feel; and the less we are able to deal with the situations which caused the discouragement in the first place. So the process becomes a self-defeating, downward spiral.
Discouragement is one of the greatest weapons in the devil’s arsenal. He has used it to destroy countless individuals and ministries. If we are not going to join the list, then we need to know how to fight it.
Firstly, we need to take a really good look at how we see God. Is He just like a “bigger person” to us? The “Bloke upstairs”? Just a friend? A warm-and-fuzzy grandfather? None of those images is nearly big enough to counter the attack of discouragement. We need to see God as He is: the creator, sustainer and King of the universe. The all-powerful One. Take time in the Word to find God as He really is, not as He has been re-fashioned into the image of man.
Secondly, we need to take time to review the things that God has done in our own lives and the lives of those around us. Whilst it is great to read of His miracles in distant countries and long-past times, those things do not have nearly the power to lift us that our personal experience has. Knowing that God has made it possible for us personally to pay a $50 account when we didn’t have the money will do more to help us overcome discouragement than knowing that He raised someone from the dead on the other side of the world. Keep a “blessing book” and record all the things that God does for you. Then, when things are tough and it is hard to remember, you can go back through it and be reminded of His goodness.
Thirdly, we need to keep the focus on the Lord, not on the problem. Now I know only too well that is easy to say and difficult to do, particularly when the problems insist on attacking you all at the same time, rather than making an orderly queue. At first, especially, you will probably need to keep pulling your focus back to the Lord. That’s ok. If necessary, use some kind of “interrupt” mechanism to help you. For instance, an elastic band around your wrist (not to tight, we don’t want any hands turning blue and dropping off). Every time you find yourself getting focused on the problem, snap the band to remind you to turn your attention to the Lord.
Finally, remember that God has a different agenda to us. Yes, He wants success for His people. But His first interest is character. He can see the big picture, where we see only through the microscopic window of our human mind. It may be that the very things that are frustrating and discouraging you today are the things that, if you will allow Him to use them in your life, will produce the character that will make it possible for Him to open greater doors and give you greater success than you are presently able to even imagine.
Ultimately, discouragement is a choice. We can allow the circumstances of life to rob us of courage and boldness, or we can allow God to use those same circumstances to lift us to a new level in Him.
Called to Battle Spiritual Warfare Seminar
Find it at http://christianspiritualwarfaregtk.com
Free e-course: Put on the Armor of God
Find it at http://christianspiritualwarfaregtk.com/armorofgod
This blog is © copyright Lynn Fowler.
There is one God, and one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:51 Timothy 2:5
English: World English Bible - WEB
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
WP-Bible plugin)in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9Colossians 2:9
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
WP-Bible plugin)and Whom God the Father has exalted to the highest place, giving Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11Philippians 2:9-11
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
WP-Bible plugin)
