Three Ways to Overcome Discouragement

In Nehemiah 4:14 it says, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious.” (NLT)

How can I defeat discouragement in my life? By following Nehemiah’s example.

In Nehemiah 4, there are three things I can do to resist discouragement.

Reinforce weak areas. Make an honest assessment of where I am most spiritually vulnerable (anger, lust, pride, or something else)? What are my weak areas?

When Nehemiah heard that his enemies wanted to attack the Jews who were helping to rebuild the wall in Jerusalem, he “stationed people behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. [He] stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bows” (Nehemiah 4:13 CSB). Nehemiah did his homework. He knew where the city’s most vulnerable spots were, and he developed a plan. What are areas in my life that also need some reinforcement? 

To resist discouragement, we’ll need to reorganize and reorder a few things. For example, if in debt, reorganize your budget. Out of shape? Reorder your lifestyle. Don’t give up, instead reinforce them.

Refocus on God. We can overcome discouragement when we stop focusing on what we don’t want to happen and start focusing on God’s promises. Often we are as discouraged as we want to be or as happy as we want to be. Nobody is forcing us to be discouraged.

When Nehemiah became aware of the people’s anxiety, he stood up and said, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious” (Nehemiah 4:14 NLT). He reminded them of God’s goodness and power.

Don’t re-play discouraging images in your mind. Instead, choose to think about God. Jonah 2:7 says, “When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord” (TLB).

Fight back. We are all engaged in a spiritual battle? The Bible says, “The devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him” (1 Peter 5:8-9 ESV). We won’t be able to resist the enemy with passivity. We have to fight for what we know God wants us to do with our lives.

Nehemiah 4:14 continues, “Fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!” (NLT) And do you know what happened next? “When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall” (Nehemiah 4:15 NLT). God strengthened them to continue the work.

When we reinforce weak areas, refocus on God, and learn to fight back, we’ll be better equipped to resist discouragement. 

What to Do With Life’s Disappointments

In Luke 2:37 I read, “[Anna] did not leave the temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers.” (CSB)

When Anna’s circumstances would have made it easy to do otherwise, she chose to focus on God’s presence and to tell everyone she could about Jesus.

Anna had been a widow for 84 years. The love of her life had died when Anna was still very young. This wasn’t what she had planned for herself. Disappointment could have made her bitter. But the Bible gives us a different picture. Luke 2:37 says, “[Anna] did not leave the temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers” (CSB).

When Anna’s husband died, she could have chosen to let her love die too. Instead, she wisely redirected her love to God. She spent her days and nights focusing on his presence instead of her disappointment.

If you haven’t yet, one day I may find someone I want to love is no longer there. What do I do with my love in those circumstances? If I’m wise, I’ll focus on God’s presence and redirect my love.

I’ve seen many couples make this decision when they’re longing for a baby but can’t have one. I’ve seen them adopt or become foster parents. They’ve taken their love and redirected it. They’ve focused on God’s presence by giving his love to one of the many children in the world in need of it.

Anna also made a second wise decision when her husband was no longer there for her to love. After spending years in God’s presence at the temple, she finally met Jesus, and immediately began spreading the Good News about him.

When Jesus was eight days old, Mary and Joseph brought him to the temple, and Anna was there. The Bible says: “At that time Anna came in and praised God. She spoke about the child Jesus to everyone who hoped for Jerusalem to be set free” (Luke 2:38 CEV).

From the moment she met Jesus, she started telling other people about him. The Bible says, “He who wins souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30 NKJV). Anna was wise because she chose to tell other people about the Good News of Jesus’ arrival.

During this Christmas season, I can make that same decision. People around me likely will be more open to spiritual truth than at any other time of the year. No matter what disappointments I’ve faced this year, choose to be like Anna. Refocus my love on God and tell people about Jesus. That’s a wise decision.

In summary, serve God night and day with fasting and prayers. When Anna’s circumstances would have made it easy to do otherwise, she chose to focus on God’s presence and to tell everyone she could about Jesus. Disappointment could have made her bitter, however when Anna’s husband died, she could have chosen to let her love die too. Instead, she wisely redirected her love to God. She spent her days and nights focusing on his presence instead of her disappointment. One day I may find someone I want to love is no longer there. What do I do with my love in that circumstance? If I’m wise, Like Anna, I’ll focus on God’s presence and redirect my love. Anna was wise because she chose to tell other people about the Good News of Jesus’ arrival. I can make that same decision. No matter what disappointments I’ve faced this year, choose to be like her and refocus my love on God and tell people about Jesus. That’s a wise decision.

“Father, in the middle of a strange Christmas season at the end of a long, difficult year, I thank you for the greatest gift of all, your son Jesus Christ. Thank you for sending him to pay for my sins. Thank you for your promise of eternal life to those who accept this gift. Holy Spirit, fill my heart with faith to trust in your promises like the three wise women of Christmas, Elizabeth, Mary, and Anna, have taught me. Help me to choose to trust your plan instead of being bitter. Help me to believe your Word instead of my fears. Help me to focus on your presence, not my disappointment, and talk to everyone about Jesus. Father, I ask you for wisdom and guidance for my day, my work, my leadership and my interactions with others. I pray these things through your Son Jesus’ name, amen. 

I Have No Excuse Not to Rest

In review of Exodus 34:21 it says, “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest” (NIV).

Bottom Line:

Work, but take one day a week to rest.

What this means to me:

God tells me that I have six days during a week in which I would do ordinary work. On the seventh day I must stop working, even in the busiest of times/seasons. I need to rest, refocus and recharge.

Today’s verse explains that I have six days each week from my ordinary work, but on the seventh day I must stop working, even during the seasons of plowing and harvest, or the busiest of times to rest, recharge and refocus.

Today, the last part of this verse, “even during the seasons of plowing and harvest”, really stands out to me. In my life, and especially with this new job, things can be very busy and there are situations in which work just needs to get done. However, God is saying this, that I need to trust Him with what needs to be done. He will take care of it. My responsibility is to be obedient and take time for rest and reflection on Him, be recharged and to spend time with family/friends. This means I need to stop doing it all on my own, but rather “yoke up with Jesus” and trust God for the outcome.

God’s Word has lots of instructions about rest, recreation and relaxation. In fact, it’s so important that God put it into the Ten Commandments. It’s right up there with “Don’t commit adultery” and “Don’t murder.” He says that every seventh day, I need to take a day off. That’s how important a Sabbath is in my life.

Jesus said in Mark 2:27, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (NIV). In other words, God created this idea of me taking a day off every seven days for rest, recreation, worship, and restoration. It’s his idea, and it’s for my own benefit so I don’t burn out.

Yet in our culture, people aren’t doing that. Even on their day off they’re working. And even those who go to a church service go home afterward and go right back to work, trying to get all the stuff done that they didn’t get accomplished during their work week. That’s not a Sabbath!

To have a Sabbath means: “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest” (Exodus 34:21 NIV).

Even in my busiest season, there is no excuse not to rest. Even a farmer must take a day off in harvest or planting season.

Here’s a short list of what God wants me to do on my Sabbath:

1. Rest my body. Sometimes the most spiritual thing I can do is to take a nap.

2. Refocus my spirit. That means I worship.

3. Recharge my emotions. Something that restores and re-energizes me, such as a hobby or a sport.

It doesn’t really matter which day is my Sabbath. It does matter that I’m are obedient. I may not rest when my wife tells me to or even when my boss tells me to take a break. But I must rest because God commands it and so I can give him your best.

As I come to this weekend, I know I have a lot of things to catch up on for work. I will really need to prioritize and schedule my sabbath.

I Can Change the Way I Think

In review of 2 Corinthians 10:5 it says, “We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ”

Bottom Line:

We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ

What this means to me:

I am to capture and destroy every proud obstacle that keeps myself from knowing God. I am to make it give up and obey Christ.

Today's passage comes from 2 Corinthians chapter 10 where we see Paul Defending His Authority (seems others think he bold in writing but is timid in person). So Paul appeals to the church in Corinth with gentleness and the kindness of Christ. He tells them he chooses to use God's mighty weapons, not worldly ones, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments, the ones that keep people from knowing God. He ends this chapter saying that If we want to boast, we should boast only about the Lord. For when people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. It’s more important for our Lord to commend us.

This passage implies that we can change the way we think.  And when it comes to the temptations we face, I don’t need to fight them, I just need to refocus. Seems that whatever I resist persists.

In scripture I am not told to resist temptation, rather I’m told to resist the Devil. This is a whole different issue. The key to overcoming temptation is not to push back, but to change my focus.

From personal experience I know that whatever gets my attention will get me. The battle for sin always starts in the mind. I believe that’s why Psalm 119:6 says, “Thinking about your commands will keep me from doing some foolish thing” (CEV). Why? Because if I’m thinking about God’s truth, I’m not thinking about the less important stuff.

This is universal for all area’s of my life. If I focus on godly things, it’s going to pull me in that direction. If I focus on the stuff that’s in popular culture (at the movies and in magazines/TV), it’s going to pull me in that direction. Whatever I focus on gets my attention. Whatever gets my attention is going to get me.

The key is to just change my mind.

Temptation always follows a predictable pattern: attention, arousal, and action. My mind gets hooked, it mind kicks in, and then I act on it.

So I don’t fight a temptation; I just turn or redirect my mind to something else. I believe this is what Paul meant when he said “We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 NCV).

It takes a lot of practice to capture each thought and turn it to Christ. I won’t always be able to control my circumstances, and I can’t even always control the way I feel. However, I can control what I think about. There’s always a choice. And if I change the way I think, it will change the way I feel, and that will ultimately change the way I act.

I should consider what I spend my time thinking about? What does my mind wander to when I’m not focused on something specific? I should start to train myself to focus on God’s Word and truths instead of the things of this world.