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Beat discouragement!
Frank Borg
Positive emotions are
considered a goal. They
are the key to health,
happiness and wellbeing.
On the other hand
negative emotions
such as fear, anger,
insecurity and
discouragement can
pollute our life if not
resisted. The emotion we
feel is a result of
choice. Deliberately or
not, we choose to
generate a feeling. This
is a freedom that each
of us have.
When things don’t quite
go the way we expect,
human nature dictates
that we can easily and
quickly become
discouraged. Discouragement
is possibly one of the
most powerful emotions
because it could often
lead to a number of
other negative
consequences. When one
is discouraged, he or
she could tend to become
fearful to face what is
laid before them leaving
them without courage to
go on.
Satan the Devil is the
author of
discouragement. He
prowls around trying
every trick in the book
to wear us down. As he
goes about doing this,
he does what he can to
see us undermine our
faith in God, leading us
to give up and give in
(1 Peter 5:8). Our
strongest defense
against Satan is
outlined in two verses
in the book of James:
“Submit yourself
therefore to God. Resist
the devil and he will
flee from you. Draw nigh
to God and he will draw
nigh to you” (James
4:7-8). We are to
acknowledge Satan as our
greatest enemy and, most
importantly, draw near
to God asking Him for
help to resist negative
thoughts and emotions.
We usually get
discouraged because we
are far from God. If God
is not at the center of
our lives, it is easy to
allow negative moods and
thoughts to take a hold
of us which result in
discouragement. The
closer we are to God,
the more we develop a
sound mind (2 Tim 1:7).
In times of
discouragement, we have
to trust in God to help
us. This requires that
we draw on the power of
His Holy Spirit.
Here are seven powerful
ways, emphasized in the
Bible in which we can
better stay close to God
and conquer
discouragement:
Pray every day and as
often as you can
Prayer is fundamental to
our well being. It is a
force and a tool which
must be used to give us
stability and strength.
“Be cheerful no matter
what; pray all the time
(persistently); thank
God no matter what
happens. This is the way
God wants you to live
who belong to Christ
Jesus” (1 Thess 5:16-18,
The Message Bible
translation).
Recognize God’s presence
We must never allow
ourselves to feel alone
- this is Satan’s plot
to get us discouraged.
God always knows
everything that goes
on in our lives! “All
things are naked and
opened unto the eyes of
him with whom we have to
do” (Heb. 4:13).
Exercise the Holy Spirit
and respond to its lead
If we are being led by
God, we will be moved to
seek Him. We must
develop the habit of
responding immediately
to the influence of
God’s Holy Spirit, this
way God’s thoughts will
flood our minds. “I
made haste and delayed
not to keep your
commandments” (Psalm
119:60).
We must engage in daily
Bible study
The more we study the
Bible, the more we take
on the mind of God. The
Bible is replete with
examples of people who
put their faith and
trust in God when faced
with seemingly
overwhelming trials and
pressures. Each of these
biblical examples
demonstrate such
powerful and positive
fruit that they should
serve as lessons of
encouragement to each of
us. “Study to chow
thyself approved…rightly
dividing the word of
truth” (2 Tim 2:15).
Live the way of give
Discouragement often
begins when we start to
focus on self! When we
fill our minds with our
own thoughts, we
undeniably push out the
thoughts of God and
resist the ‘give’ way of
life. This results in a
blurring of God’s
viewpoint which can
quite easily overwhelm
us. To offset this we
must live the way of
give beginning by simply
giving happiness to
others! “Greater love
hath no man than this
that a man lay down his
life for his friends”
(John 15:13).
Each day must count
Paul admonishes us to
redeem the time. “See
then that ye walk
circumspectly, not as
fools but as wise,
redeeming the time
because the days are
evil” (Eph 5:15-16). The
NIV translates verse 16
as, “making the most of
every opportunity”. We
mustn’t allow ourselves
to get complacent, but
use every moment as if
it were our last! Use
every day that God gives
us as an urgent
opportunity to grow in
His character. We need
to strive to accomplish
as much as we can in the
window of time God has
blessed us with.
“Blessed is that
servant, whom his Lord
when He cometh shall
find so doing” (Matt
24:46).
Put God first - always!
Those in the Church
should expect
difficulties! Acts 14:22
firmly states:
“Confirming the souls of
the disciples and
exhorting them to
continue in the faith,
and that we must
through much tribulation
enter into the Kingdom
of God”. We must
never allow problems to
get the better of us –
if they do, simply put,
God is not first in our
life! The Apostle Paul
wrote “I have learned to
be content whatever the
circumstances. I know
what it is to be in
need, and I know what it
is to be in plenty. I
have learned the secret
of being content in any
and every situation,
whether well fed or
hungry, whether living
in plenty or in want.
I can do everything
through Him who gives me
strength” (Phil.
4:11-13 NIV). God will
never leave nor forsake
us (Heb 13:5). He will
always deliver us (Psalm
34:19) if we put Him
first in our lives!
Satan wants us to focus
on the negative in any
and every situation. If
and when we allow this
to happen, fear, anger,
insecurity and so many
other negative emotions
over take us.
Discouragement ensues
and Satan wins a battle.
God’s way is that of
looking for the silver
lining in every
dark cloud. This resists
Satan, gets us closer to
God and helps us win the
war!
Let’s use the tools God
has placed at our
disposal, and do all we
can, to take on and
exude His emotion of
COURAGE!
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