The Word
“Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.”
~Hebrews 10:32-35
The Thought
I’ve been thinking this week a lot about discouragement and how it has the power to rule over our actions, shift our way of thinking.
Where does discouragement come from?
Many times disappointment leads to discouragement. We are disappointed in the behavior of those around us. We are disappointed when our prayers seemingly go unanswered. We are disappointed when the promotion promised does not come through.
It doesn’t take long for disappointment to lead to discouragement. Our way of viewing life changes —it hurts to get our hopes up.
In his book, Suffering, Paul David Tripp forecasts the danger of discouragement when he writes:
“Discouragement will sap you of your strength and courage. It will cause you to see negative where nothing is negative and miss the positive that is right in front of you. If given room, discouragement will tell you lies that have the power to destroy your life.”
This is a powerful reminder that discouragement is nothing to mess around with. Left unchecked, over time, discouragement can have a disastrous affect on our lives.
First, it can cause a demeanor of negativity. Perhaps you know someone who is always negative —maybe you find yourself there? No matter what happens, you are just waiting for the bad. You lose sight of the good that is happening around you. And the result is a life of complaint.
Second, you start to listen to the lies of the enemy. You loose faith that God is for you and He is working all things out for good. You wonder if His promises are true. You hear the age old lie from the beginning of time, Did God really say? It’s hard to hear God’s voice when our spirits are draped in discouragement.
Finally, discouragement can lead to wrong choices. If we fail to see clearly, we act out of doubt rather than confidence. We let our feelings rule our behavior—feelings of negativity, fear, and doubt. We try to take matters into our own hands instead of waiting on God when He asks us to. We find ourselves cutting corners because we don’t believe what we do really matters.
“Discouragement makes a very bad master,” Tripp emphasizes.
We can’t let discouragement get the upper hand in our lives, dear ones. It’s time we fight with all our heart to beat this nasty giant. Victory is ours, and the plans God has for us are good. They are to prosper us —not to bring us harm—no matter how dark the night may seem.
Let’s fight discouragement with the confidence that only God can bring. As the Hebrews writer reminds, “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.”
Suffering is part of our journey on this earth, and with it naturally comes discouragement. But we must fight this discouragement with all our heart. We can’t throw away our confidence in Who He is.
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