Chapter 5: Overcoming Discouragement
Have you ever felt discouraged? Have you ever gone through times in your life when you lost your confidence and become disheartened? Have you felt as if your whole world was crashing around about you and no one cared or was able to help, including God?
To discourage means to deprive of confidence, hope or spirit; to dishearten or daunt.
At the base of every discouragement is a lie from Satan. Emotions such as fear, unbelief, bitterness, self-pity and condemnation all have their origin with Satan’s lies.
The following verses are taken from the book of Ephesians. Chapter 6 (verses 10-18). They show us that at the root of many of our struggles is the devil. His whole aim is to disable and finally destroy our faith in God. One of his key weapons is the weapon of discouragement
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Ephesians 6:14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness.
Ephesians 6:15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Ephesians 6:16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
Ephesians 6:18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
There are 3 stages of discouragement:
- Mild
These involve minor problems or pressures out of the ordinary that affect our emotions.
- Strong
These are major problems or pressures that affect our spirits to a point that others may start to notice.
- Disabling
These are overwhelming problems or pressures which drain us of spiritual, mental, emotional and physical strength.
When we encounter intense discouragement like this we have no desire, energy or ability to go on.
The devil knows that if he is able to make you feel all alone, and cause you to lose hope in God, you will become so disheartened that you will be tempted to give up and turn your back on Jesus.
How do we overcome discouragement?
There are several basic steps that must be followed in order to have victory over discouragement. The steps are as follows:
- Remove any guilt
Satan will remind us of our present and past sins to try and make us feel like total failures, telling us that we aren’t good enough to be a Christian and that we will never make it – that we will never overcome the sin in our lives.
Begin by repenting of any sin you might have committed and asking Jesus to make you clean. The Bible says that once you have done this, it is totally forgotten by God, never to be remembered again. If He has forgotten it, we should not allow ourselves to be condemned by it!
- Take up the Shield of Faith
Ephesians 6:16 – Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
We take up the shield of faith by quoting what God says is the truth, rather than believing the lies the devil would place into our minds.
The following are some of Satan’s fiery darts to which we must respond with God’s truth. Look up the following Bible verses and write down the truth that God declares about each one of these lies,
LIES GOD’S TRUTH
God has left me Hebrews 13:5
No good will come from this Romans 8:28-29
People have hurt me Ephesians 6:12
God is punishing me Hebrews 12:1-11
I am weak 2 Corinthians 12:9
I am worth nothing Psalm 139:13-14
I can’t handle this 1 Corinthians 10:13
- Encourage our hearts in the Lord
King David went through a terrible time of discouragement when his close friends wanted to kill him.
What did David do in his moment of discouragement?
1 Samuel 30:6
David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.
David’s greatest calamity came just a few days before he was established as the king. Satan often brings to us the greatest discouragements JUST before God fulfils our expectations. It is for this reason that God warns us not to give up.
Galatians 6:9 says:
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
How do we encourage ourselves in the Lord?
- By meditating on God’s word
When we meditate on God’s Word, we allow the Spirit of God to begin to speak life and peace into our hearts. Discouragement becomes stronger as we meditate upon our circumstances. By filling ourselves with the Word of God, we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts, rather than allowing our emotions to control us.
- By remembering all the good things God has done for us
Sit down and write out all the things that God has done for you. I’m sure you can think of a couple of great things, but what about some of the smaller things, that you and I so easily take for granted. What little mercies do you have to be grateful for?
It is important for us to recall God’s blessings and thank Him for what He has done.
Thanking Him for all the GOOD things He has done reminds us of the fact of His love and provision in our Lives. When we are discouraged, it is easy to become so consumed with our problem, that we can lose sight of God’s goodness.
- By thanking and praising Him out loud
There is tremendous spiritual power over Satan in audibly praising God. Telling God how wonderful He is and thanking Him out loud (even for the bad things) shatters Satan’s stranglehold of fear and worry. Praising God in the midst of discouragement re-establishes our trust in God and releases His power to act on our behalf.
NB: Please note that you must not give up praising God until the discouragement has lifted. It will take longer than just a couple of minutes, so persist until you break through.
PRACTICAL THINGS YOU NEED TO DO
1 Establish a place to be ALONE with God.
Away from the phone, work and other pressures.
2 Remove yourself from fearful people as often as possible.
A fearful person will spread his fear onto us and make us fearful.
- Read biographies of great Christians.
You will discover that every person whom God used mightily went through times of great discouragement. This will help you to see your situation from a different perspective.
Avoid making major decisions during times of discouragement. Bad decisions are often made under pressure.
- Tell your life coach or another mature Christian about your discouragement. Sometimes we feel reluctant to tell others that we are discouraged because we want them to think we are strong. This can be pride in our lives and it prevents us from getting help.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
CHECKLIST
- Have I confessed any present sin to the Lord and asked for His forgiveness?
- Have I taken up the shield of faith and declared the truth about my situation?
- Have I encouraged myself in the Lord?
- Have I remembered that I am a child of God and that I live in victory?
- Have I praised God today for all the good things He has done for me?
When we take these steps in our daily walk with God we know that we are well on the way to overcoming the power of discouragement in our lives.Congratulations on completing our ‘You and God’ series’. You have now completed the first part of your journey.
Influencers Church is committed to helping you grow in God. Please reach out to your Life Coach about ways in which you can take your next step.