I have been discouraged a lot in the past couple years such as the times I was attacked at work by a resident, and by the fact that I was unemployed for almost an entire year and not knowing where my next meal was going to come from... but you know what? God got me through it as he always has. Even in all my wickedness through the years God has always been there and protected me. When I finally gave everything over and let Him take control and accepted Jesus as my savior, I put myself in his hands and let him put me where I was needed. Yes there was a lot of discouraging times but He knew what I needed and He provided just as Jesus has said. Today's verses I think are no way nearly even scratching the surface so I will give you some that may ease your discouragement a bit more than the single one that was provided.
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. - Romans 12:12 (NIV)
Nothing can stand against what God says or who he stands behind simply by accepting him...
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? - Romans 8:31 (NIV)
8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. - 2Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV)
Something to look forward to, keep your eyes on the goal ahead...
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.
2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. - John 14:1-3 (NIV)
And the one that has gotten me through so much during these times I talked about.....and by far is one of my favorite scriptures...
31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. - Matthew 6:31-34 (NIV)
I do hope these verses I have provided give you encouragement like they do me..
~B
Discouragement is curable. Whenever I get discouraged, I head straight to Nehemiah. This great leader of ancient Israel understood there were four reasons for discouragement.
First, you get fatigued. You simply get tired as the laborers did in Nehemiah 4:10. We’re human beings, and we wear out. You cannot burn the candle at both ends. So if you’re discouraged, it may be you don’t have to change anything. You just need a vacation! Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is go to bed.
Second, you get frustrated. Nehemiah says there was rubble all around, so much that it was getting in the way of rebuilding the wall. Do you have rubble in your life? Have you noticed that anytime you start doing something new, the trash starts piling up?
If you don’t clean it out periodically, it’s going to stop your progress. You can’t avoid it, so you need to learn to recognize it and dispose of it quickly so you don’t lose focus on your original intention.
Third, you think you’ve failed. Nehemiah’s people were unable to finish their task as quickly as originally planned and, as a result, their confidence collapsed. They were thinking, “We were stupid to think we could ever rebuild this wall.”
But you know what I do when I don’t reach a goal on time? I just set a new goal. I don’t give up. Everybody fails. Everybody does foolish things. So the issue is not that you failed; it’s how you respond to your failure.
Do you give in to self-pity? Do you start blaming other people? Do you start complaining that it’s impossible? Or, do you refocus on God’s intentions and start moving again?
Finally, when you give in to fear, you get discouraged. Nehemiah 4 suggests the people most affected by fear are those who hang around negative people. If you’re going to control the negative thoughts in your life, you’ve got to get away from negative people as much as you can.
Maybe you’re discouraged because of fear. You’re dealing with fears like, “I can’t handle this. It’s too much responsibility.” Maybe it’s the fear that you don’t deserve it or the fear of criticism. Fear will destroy your life if you let it. But you can choose to resist the discouragement. Say, “God, help me get my eyes off the problem and the circumstance and keep my eyes on you.”
10 Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.” - Nehemiah 4:10 (NIV)
This devotional © 2014 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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