Let's Go Back to the Bible

Overcoming Discouragement

Discouragement is a very real danger—a weapon that Satan wields very proficiently. Discouragement has the potential to destroy us, thus Paul warned about it (Gal. 6:9). The following are some suggestions that should help us overcome this threat.

Focus our eyes on heaven. Life is meaningless without God (Eccl. 1:2). Our eyes need to be focused upon the goal of our life. Setting our minds on things above keeps us looking up (Col. 3:2). Jesus, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the pain and shame of His death (Heb. 12:2). This helps us keep things in perspective.

Counting our blessings is more than just a song. Don’t allow a few negative things to monopolize our attention. No matter the adversity we face, there are many reasons we can still thank God. To mope and complain after all that God has done for us is a sign of ingratitude (Phil. 4:4, 11).

Look outward rather than inward gets the focus off whatever we are struggling with. “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:35). A truthful paradox is to bear another person’s load will lighten your own. Much of our discouragement can be dispelled by obeying God’s command to be a kingdom of servants. We were created for good works (Eph. 2:10).

Remember that God demands faithfulness, not success (Rev. 2:10). Self-appointed goals often bring feelings of discouragement and failure. It is our job to plant and water, and God gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:6). We run the race, fight the fight, and labor for the goal of the next life and to be rewarded by our heavenly Father (2 Tim. 2:4-6; 4:7-8).

We know the outcome of the story. The book of Revelation emphatically tells us that when all is said and done we, who have trusted in Christ, are victorious! Because we know that we will attain the mountaintops, why then worry when we find ourselves in some rather deep dark valleys, for we know that it is only temporary (Rev. 12:11; 14:13).

Let us not be so discouraged that we forget what lies ahead. “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:13-14). Yes, things happen that can be discouraging. We must not let it be an occasion for Satan to get a foothold in our hearts and blind us from the promises of our Lord. We can make a shipwreck of our souls on the rock of despair.