Discouragement

                             We finished our series on love last time and it is time to move on, although we never really move on from loving God and each other. I had a bit of a struggle with what I should speak on today and as usual thought it best to preach on what was happening in my life. I teach as I am being taught. If I am being honest with you I have felt very discouraged and defeated lately. It would seem as though there are a lot of areas in my life and in the life of those that I love that have been disappointing, challenging and downright depressing lately. I have watched people that I love make decisions that I know will harm them and they are doing it willingly when they know better. I have struggled in my own faith in God in financial and personal areas of my life. I have humored moments of apathy that I just would like to stop trying so hard and give up because it all seems in vain. Discouragement is universal. No one is immune. If there is anyone here that has never been discouraged than please feel free to correct me. Everyone has been discouraged at one time or another. And just because you were once does not mean that you are immune to it ever happening again. It is like a disease that wears you down and weakens you. It is highly contagious and can be spread by mere casual contact. There are many causes for discouragement and there are many levels of discouragement. Let me encourage you before we move on that there is also a treatment for discouragement.

          First of all, I would like us to look at examples in the bible of people who were discouraged or who at least had a right to be discouraged. This helped me to keep the proper perspective of my issues.

          Of course the obvious one with the right to be discouraged would be Job.

          Job 1:3  He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east

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          Job 3:11  "Why did I not die at birth, come out from the womb and expire?

     Job 3:20  "Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul,

Job 3:21  who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures,

Job 3:22  who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they find the grave?

Job 3:23  Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?

Job 3:24  For my sighing comes instead of my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water.

Job 3:25  For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me.

Job 3:26  I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, but trouble comes."

 

          Joseph was sold as a slave by his brothers and imprisoned for something he did not do. He had a right to be discouraged.       

 

          David is another good example of someone who had a right to be discouraged as he fled for his life …

 

Psa 142:1  A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer. With my voice I cry out to the LORD; with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD.

Psa 142:2  I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.

Psa 142:3  When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me.

Psa 142:4  Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul.

Psa 142:5  I cry to you, O LORD; I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living."

Psa 142:6  Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me!

Psa 142:7  Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.

 

          Paul is another example as we look at his life…

                   I am sure that there were times that Paul became discouraged. His letters to the Corinthians certainly, by his language, sound that he was discouraged with the Corinthians. He even points out that they know better. He spent a large amount of time in prisons. He had a right to be discouraged.

 

                   There are many more examples, but I just wanted to give you a few so we could keep ourselves in a proper perspective. Our lives, just by the fact we are all here in this room today, are not as bad as those we just read about.

          I would like to take just a minute and look at was caused discouragement in our lives and the lives of the people we just looked at. It would be fair to say that loss of all your wealth would be cause for discouragement, loss of loved ones, ridicule from others, pain and suffering, unjust treatment, false accusations, the threat of losing one’s life, loved ones disregarding the council of God. These are just a few from the texts we read earlier. There is no lack of reasons to be discouraged in this world. But here is where I am going to throw in a little twist. Being discouraged can be a good thing. It causes us to call out to God as our only cure. Many people are born again because they have come to a point in their life so low that they have lost all hope and are ready to give up. It is also good for believers to be reminded that God is in control. My discouragement has caused me to have a closer relationship with God because I have to rely on Him more. Discouragement comes from my perspective of what “things” are supposed to look like verses what God’s perspective of “things” is. That is why when we feel discouraged it is so imperative that we seek and trust Him even more diligently. The very thing that has you discouraged is part of His plan for your life.

 

2Co 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

2Co 1:4  who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2Co 1:5  For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

2Co 1:6  If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.

2Co 4:16  So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

2Co 4:17  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

2Co 4:18  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

 

          The sad part and the tragedy in this is so many of us think, by our actions, that we know better than God, or don’t trust God enough to allow Him to use us in those times. We have a tendency, as I spoke of earlier, to “zone out” and give up. But we need God the most in those times and yet we shut Him out of our lives and wallow in self-pity because we have a right to be discouraged. The other tendency is that we look elsewhere for our answers. We self-medicate with alcohol or drugs, even prescription drugs so that we don’t have to deal with the situation. How one handles discouragement is a pivotal point in our life and relationship with God. I want to read you this story I found on the internet. I thought it was neat and made my point very well.    

 

The Rock
A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man He had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.
This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sundown, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore, and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.
Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, the Adversary decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man’s weary mind. "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it."
This gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. "Why kill myself over this?" he thought. "I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough."
And that is what he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. "Lord" he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have
not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"
The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me, with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself."
"Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in my wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend will now move the rock."

 

          As I close, I wanted to share with you a little more of my situation. I mentioned earlier that there are a lot of areas in my life and in the life of those that I love that have been disappointing, challenging and downright depressing lately. I have watched people that I love make decisions that I know will harm them and they are doing it willingly when they know better. I have struggled in my own faith in God in financial and personal areas of my life. The truth is that God is in control of all of those things. And I was deceived into believing that I was in some kind of control of all that. The truth that God revealed to me… My kids, granddaughter and wife are all healthy and alive and under God’s care; we all have food in our stomachs, roofs over our heads, and are better off financially than I ever have been in my life. All by God’s grace and love. Even if we didn’t have all that, God is still in control. I have a board in my office that says… You can’t control today’s outcome but you can control your effort. The outcome is for God to decide.

Last thing… I Promise…

                   A good friend gave me this advice this week. By the way when you are discouraged don’t become a recluse. You need fellowship!! He said…

 God is in charge. When we don't know what else to do, it is time to just set your face like flint and follow Jesus. So many things that happen in our circles are not even about us, but about those around us but we get caught up in the drama because we love them or need them - so just do your job - steer the ship and this time of storm will pass soon and we will get some more smooth sailing and be glad we came on the cruise.