Yesterday we looked at what courage is. Today I want to focus on discouragement. If courage is the ability to keep on going even when life is tough or uncertain then discouragement is the inability to keep on going when life is tough or uncertain. It is often accompanied by fear, disappointment, a lack of effort and/or desire. It is the persistent wondering of why we should continue trying since we know we are going to fail anyway. Ultimately, if left unchecked, discouragement leads to quitting. Giving up. Failure. Defeat.
As such discouragement is an enemy. It takes away our courage. It weakens us. It causes us to shrink back from the battle. It puts us on the defensive instead of the offensive. It magnifies problems, making them look much larger and difficult than they really are. It also minimizes resources, making them look much smaller and inadequate than they really are.
The truth is that discouragement is an everyday fact of life and it can attack us in so many different ways. Sometimes people discourage us. Sometimes we get discouraged about ourselves. Sometimes life discourages us. Almost always Satan is somewhere in discouragement. His trick is to get us to forget about God and His promises and to focus on our problems. How big they are. How complex they are. How impossible they are.
The reality is that discouragement affects everyone at some point in time in their lives. It affects young and old. Black and white. Male and female. Rich and poor. White-collar and blue-collar. Godly and ungodly. Ironically, discouragement is listed as the #1 reason why pastors leave the ministry. Not finances. Nor moral failure. Not lack of help, change or support. That says a lot. I know I’ve had my own battles with discouragement. More often than not I am discouraged with myself - my own perception that I am not living up to God’s standards, or my own.
Just as we saw people in Scripture who displayed courage, we also see people who were dis-couraged. Elijah was discouraged after his great victory over the 450 prophets of Baal when Queen Jezebel threatened his life. David was often discouraged as King Saul attempted to take his life. The disciples were discouraged after they saw Jesus, their beloved Lord and Master, tortured and crucified on a cross.
Fortunately, God is not the author of discouragement but encouragement (a subject we will look at in tomorrow’s post). I like what the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 42:11, “Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God. I will yet praise him again, my Savior and my God.” No matter how discouraged we might be, God is always standing by to help us. All we need to do is ask. Better days and times are right around the corner.
Lord, there are times in my life when I get discouraged. Discouraged with others. Discouraged with myself. Discouraged with life. Sometimes I even get discouraged with You. Help me to see Your many wonderful promises found in the Bible. Help me to claim them by faith, knowing that they are for me. That You are for me. Send someone my way today with a word of encouragement. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
As such discouragement is an enemy. It takes away our courage. It weakens us. It causes us to shrink back from the battle. It puts us on the defensive instead of the offensive. It magnifies problems, making them look much larger and difficult than they really are. It also minimizes resources, making them look much smaller and inadequate than they really are.
The truth is that discouragement is an everyday fact of life and it can attack us in so many different ways. Sometimes people discourage us. Sometimes we get discouraged about ourselves. Sometimes life discourages us. Almost always Satan is somewhere in discouragement. His trick is to get us to forget about God and His promises and to focus on our problems. How big they are. How complex they are. How impossible they are.
The reality is that discouragement affects everyone at some point in time in their lives. It affects young and old. Black and white. Male and female. Rich and poor. White-collar and blue-collar. Godly and ungodly. Ironically, discouragement is listed as the #1 reason why pastors leave the ministry. Not finances. Nor moral failure. Not lack of help, change or support. That says a lot. I know I’ve had my own battles with discouragement. More often than not I am discouraged with myself - my own perception that I am not living up to God’s standards, or my own.
Just as we saw people in Scripture who displayed courage, we also see people who were dis-couraged. Elijah was discouraged after his great victory over the 450 prophets of Baal when Queen Jezebel threatened his life. David was often discouraged as King Saul attempted to take his life. The disciples were discouraged after they saw Jesus, their beloved Lord and Master, tortured and crucified on a cross.
Fortunately, God is not the author of discouragement but encouragement (a subject we will look at in tomorrow’s post). I like what the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 42:11, “Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God. I will yet praise him again, my Savior and my God.” No matter how discouraged we might be, God is always standing by to help us. All we need to do is ask. Better days and times are right around the corner.
Lord, there are times in my life when I get discouraged. Discouraged with others. Discouraged with myself. Discouraged with life. Sometimes I even get discouraged with You. Help me to see Your many wonderful promises found in the Bible. Help me to claim them by faith, knowing that they are for me. That You are for me. Send someone my way today with a word of encouragement. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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