How to Overcome Discouragement

I stood up and said … ‘Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome ….’

Nehemiah 4: 14 NIV®

First Find a better Way

While rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls, Nehemiah said, ‘I looked things over.’
Realising there were enemies to be defeated and obstacles to overcome,
he ‘stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places,
posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows.’ (Nehemiah 4: 13 NIV®)
In order to overcome discouragement, Nehemiah realised
they’d have to start doing things differently.
They needed a new system.
So he organised the people differently according to their gifts and strengths.
Insanity has been defined as doing the same thing over and over again
and hoping for different results; and there is wisdom in that saying.
When you get discouraged, don’t give up on your goals,
instead devise a new approach!
Question: Was it wrong for the Jews to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem?
No, they were just going about it in the wrong way!
There is a lesson here for us all: Whenever you have a problem, don’t throw in the towel;
look for a new approach, reorganise your schedule, and refocus on your goal.
Have you ever heard of the 80/20 principle?
That is where 80% of your time is spent on the 20% of activities that aren’t productive,
and as a result you get frustrated.
You need to devote 80% of your time to the 20% that produces the highest results.
Business managers call this ROI time – ‘return on investment.’
Therefore practice devoting the majority of your time and energy
to the things you know bring results.

Don’t just Think about the Problem

Don’t just think about the problem, think about the Lord.
Nehemiah said, ‘After I looked things over,
I stood up and said to the nobles, officials and the rest of the people,
“don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord who is great and awesome.”’
He reminds the people about God’s Sovereignty and that e is a Covenant-keeping God.
What specifically should you remember?
Three things:
1) God’s goodness to you in the past.
When you start thinking about all the good things he’s already done in your life,
your spirit will be lifted and your anxiety eased.
2) Remember God’s closeness in the present. What is He doing in your life right now?
The truth is, He is with you whether or not you feel His nearness.
He said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ (Hebrews 13: 5 NIV®)
3) Remember God’s power for the future. He will give you strength for your needs.
When you get discouraged, get your mind off your circumstances and focus on the Lord,
because circumstances can depress and discourage you.
If you want to feel uplifted, make a concerted effort to think uplifting thoughts.
Choose some encouraging Bible verses to memorise and quote them to yourself:
‘I can do all things through him who gives me strength.’ (Philippians 4:13 NIV®)

Fight a Gloomy Outlook

Depression, gloom, pessimism, despair and discouragement
stop more people than all the world’s combined illnesses.
The truth is enthusiasm will take you where talent alone can’t.
Every day talented people give in to discouragement and quit,
while people with less talent and ability keep going and succeed.
Winston Churchill once quipped, ‘I’m an optimist. It doesn’t seem too much use being anything else’.
If you really, really, really believe that God is on your side,
you’ll be optimistic even in the face of overwhelming obstacles and discouragement.
In the Old Testament, a group of former slaves
rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in just fifty two days, and went on to prosper.
How did they do it?
Nehemiah, their leader, said, ‘Don’t surrender to discouragement. Don’t give it an inch.
Fight every step of the way!’ That prescription still works today!
One of Satan’s favourite weapons is discouragement.
He knows you can never be defeated unless you are defeated in your thinking;
but you have the power to overcome him.
‘Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.’ (James 4:7 KJV).
When Satan brings discouragement to your door, what should you do?
Don’t open the door! Don’t invite him in! Don’t accept the package! Don’t sign the receipt!
Instead submit to God. (Excerpts from ‘Word for Today by United Christian Broadcasters UCB)

Let us pray:
Almighty God, as we go through these stressful times
help us to strengthen our faith and trust in you.
Help us to keep our eyes on where we are going and not on what we are going through.
Please help us to build up our emotional reserves by immersing ourselves in your promises.
From time to time we all experience fatigue, frustration, failure and fear,
but by standing on your promises we choose not to get discouraged.
Father, raise us up so that we walk under your covering,
instead of burying ourselves under negative influences.
We know that you are walking with us through this wilderness experience;
because in the past you have brought us through challenging experiences.
You are our Shepherd, and when we call we know you answer us.

Amen

In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present, nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8: 37–39 NIV®

‘… Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’

Joshua 1: 9 NIV®

Father, hear the prayer we offer:
Not for ease that prayer shall be,
But for strength that we may ever
Live our lives courageously.

Be our strength in hours of weakness,
In our wanderings be our guide;
Through endeavour, failure, danger,
Father, be thou at our side.

Love Maria Whitcomb (1824–1908)