Evil has a way of discouraging you. The devil steps in and causes you to give up and to not believe. But you have it within yourself to keep discouragement from winning. I, myself, have been discouraged so much that I have let myself fall into the cracks of believing that I am not making a difference. I know exactly how it feels to be discouraged and how it feels to be let down. I would like to tell you that if you are also feeling discouraged, that you can be encouraged in just the simplest way!
In John 16:33, it says that in this world we have tribulation. And yes, we definitely have a lot going on in our world today to be discouraged and worried about. But it says to take heart, because He has overcome the world! If we think of that first, we realize that Jesus has overcome the world. He took a beating beyond our imagination, and he was scorned, torn apart, spat on, and the worse possible punishment on the cross. He overcame the world for sure, and the things that we go through are nothing compared to that! If we keep that in mind, then we surely can endure anything that comes in our path.
I write in my stories and write my poems and hardly ever getting any responses from anyone or anyone sharing my posts. This is such a discouragement to me and at times my heart hurts because I feel like I am not being a good example that God wants me to be. I sometimes feel I am not making a difference. It has been a while that I have really concentrated on writing in my posts because of this. I felt like I was in some kind of writers funk.
But not long ago, there was a man I know who responded and gave me that little bit of encouragement that I needed to realize that even if one person is touched by some thing that I have written, then I have done what I should have done in God’s work. I think of the verse in Matthew 25:40. It says, “The surprised followers ask when they did these things for Him, and Jesus replies, “The king will answer them, ‘Truly , I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers, you did it to Me.’” What an encouragement that is to know that we make a difference to Him!
Sometimes we look for encouragement from others, and that is a huge plus and going forward in the world as we know it, but really all that it boils down to is that our Lord Jesus Christ sees and knows everything and we live for Him. It doesn’t matter if we get the things that pacify us on this earth and the encouragement we think we need as much as we understand that God’s will comes first. Pleasing Him comes first. As each of us should have in our hearts, I also fall short of this concept many times over.
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous, right hand.” This is what Isaiah 41:10 tells us. Do not fear, for I am with you, I am your God, I will strengthen you, and help you, uphold you with my righteous right hand. If we think about those words very carefully, we will understand that we are never alone in our walk. No matter what struggles we have, or how much discouragement we may run into, He is always with us. We are never alone!
I pray a lot, but I do lack a lot in that department as well. Philippians 4 tells us to not be anxious about anything and in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, to present a request to God. When we do so it tells us that He, being the peace of God, which is all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Jesus Christ. When we feel discouraged, sometimes we tend to fall into the ‘woe is me’ attitude. But instead of being discouraged, we do need to lift our heads and pray to the One who can help, who wants to help. That devil wants to dish out discouragement on a whim, and he has no care about any of us! We need to throw dust in his eyes and know that by praying we let the Lord shove His fist in his mouth!
The Lord knows everything that we need, and He wants us to pray and ask him. In Matthew 6, He tells us to seek His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to us. We are not to worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. I am guilty about worrying so much about allowing the devil to sink into my thoughts, and make me want to quit sharing what I know should be shared. We all fall short of his glory, but we must do what we can to make things right.
As Philippians 2:3-4 tells us to do nothing from selfish ambition, or conceit, but in humility, count others more significant than yourselves. “Let each of you look at not only to his own interests, but into the interests of others.” Discouragement can lead us down the wrong path, and it can turn into an internal battle whereas we are focusing our minds to self and not others. Just because we do not get the encouragement we think we need, the focus needs to be turned the opposite direction and think how can I help someone else even if it is just one.
This being said, we also have to remember that we do have a responsibility to encourage one another and to build each other up. He says this in 1Thessalonians 5:11. Also, in Hebrews 10:25, He says to meet together and encourage one another. In encouraging one another, we have to also be strong to know that sometimes it takes just one of us to make that difference and we ourselves should not be discouraged. So if anyone out there is feeling discouraged right now and it feels like you’re at the end of your rope, remember that you are not alone, and that you are making a difference. Remember that He walked before us and He suffered greatly, that we should continue to seek Him and to pray to Him, that we should encourage each other, and not worry about selfish ambition but in doing for others, we should walk and do our part!