Overcoming Discouragement

“Do not be afraid or discouraged.”
1 Chronicles 22:13 (NIV)

We are currently living in the middle of a great cultural crisis, a post-modern secular culture without God and without hope for the future. The ongoing Covid pandemic; social isolation; botched withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan; economic upheaval; skyrocketing suicide rates; polarized and partisan politics; confusion over sexual and gender identity; a loss of vision for a shared common good; and the current “cancel culture” are all factors contributing to our collective anxiety, fear, and discouragement.

But what about our personal discouragement? What are some of the root causes that can lead us to lose both our hope and our courage? It’s easy to become discouraged when:

• The road is too long

• The work gets too hard

• The suffering is too painful

• The wait is unbearable

• The odds seem impossible

• Prayers go unanswered

• Disappointments pile up

I’ve previously written here and here about five triggers for discouragement identified in 1 Kings 19.

• Fear

• Fatigue

• Failure

• Frustration

• Loss of focus

God met Elijah exactly where he was in his desert of discouragement by asking him an important question: “Why are you here, Elijah?” It’s the same question God asks each of us today.

In asking that question, God gives us some important strategies to help us deal with our own discouragement. Much like Elijah in 1 Kings 19 we must:

• Face our fear

• Feed our soul

• Find a friend and

• Fix our focus

Facing our fear means that we both recognize, acknowledge, and confess it. What kind of fear am I dealing with? Is it the fear of missing out, the fear of not enough, the fear of the sneer, or a fear of danger or loss? The Bible teaches us that for the Christian, there is at least one healthy fear: the fear of the Lord.

Most of us if we’re honest think the fear of the Lord is literally being scared to death of God. But Pastor Kevin DeYoung defines the fear of the Lord as “the fear that draws us near.” Think about that definition for a moment. Fear of the Lord is the fear that allows us to run to God, not away from him. Author Beth Moore writes, “To the one who fears God, there’s no reason to fear anyone or anything else.” The author of Psalm 112 agrees, “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord…his heart is secure, he will have no fear.” (Psalm 112:1,8)

Once we’ve acknowledged and confessed our fear, we need to feed our souls. We do that best with God’s Word and His Spirit. The Psalms are a great resource for feeding our souls. Read Psalm 42 and 43 and you’ll see that King David brings his discouragement, doubts, sufferings, questions, and fears to God and finds both help and hope. Feeding our souls with God’s word involves much more than just reading scripture. We must also memorize and meditate on it. God’s Word is a powerful weapon in the ongoing battle against fear and discouragement. “When I am afraid, I will trust in you.” (Psalm 56:3)

Our next tool for fighting discouragement is to find a friend. Alone under the broom tree in the wilderness, Elijah was discouraged and desperately crying, “I have had enough Lord; take my life!” Thankfully, God didn’t answer Elijah’s desperate prayer. Instead God sent him a friend named Elisha. King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, once wrote: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9)

A final strategy for dealing with discouragement is to fix our focus. The Bible is clear. To increase our joy, we must keep our eyes fixed on Christ. Instead of focusing on our sin, ourselves, our circumstances, our suffering, or our social media, we need to fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Practically speaking, that might mean we need to limit our screen time, social media, and news feeds.

Wherever we are today, through present sufferings and future fears, may God whisper courage not just in our ears, but also in our hearts.  As we by faith take that courage, may “the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” (1 Peter 5:10)

Do not fear or be discouraged!