How to Deal with Discouragement

Preacher:
Date: September 13, 2024

“But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6, KJV).

 

“Do you ever get discouraged?”  This question was asked of Malcolm Campbell.  He replied honestly, “No, I don’t get discouraged and I’ll tell you why:  I don’t believe in it!”

That is a new angle to this human problem of discouragement, isn’t it?  If you do not believe in discouragement, you cannot get discouraged.  A friend, who knows Malcolm well, says, “He’s telling the truth.  I’ve never seen him discouraged.”

A professional writer reports that the way he has overcome discouragement is by using a stopwatch.  When he gets a manuscript rejected, or suffers some other disappointment, he gives himself three minutes to feel sorry for himself.  When the three minutes are up, he snaps out of his disappointment and gets busy doing something constructive.

Dr. Richard C. Halverson, the late Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, asks, “Why do we ever give way to pessimism and despair?  In our saner moments, we know beyond the peradventure of a doubt that God is always the Master of all circumstances, never the victim of any!  He is never taken by surprise, never thwarted, never frustrated.  God is in charge!  Anxiety, therefore, is a kind of mistrust, a kind of challenge to God’s integrity and fidelity.  Anxiety means that we believe in the circumstances more than we believe in God!”

The same may be said of discouragement.  It is a form of mistrust, a believing in adverse circumstances more than in a never‑changing God.  “I agree,” you say, “but how can I deal successfully with discouragement on a daily basis?”  In answer to this I have jotted down three guidelines, which, if put into daily use, can lift you from the swamps of despondency and put your feet on the Mount Everest of abundant living.

Guideline #1:  Refuse to judge life by any one situation or experience.  Learn to take all things into consideration before you settle on “your mood for the day.”  Just because something unpleasant has happened, do not ruin the rest of the day by dwelling mentally on it.  “If you must cry over spilt milk, condense it,” quipped one optimist.  A country farmer expressed a similar thought when he said bluntly, “Trouble with people is that we remember the smell of one skunk but forget the fragrance of a thousand flowers.”

The Apostle Paul realized the importance of taking everything into consideration when he wrote these famous words, “God works all things for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Guideline #2:  Do everything possible to better the situation that has caused your discouragement.  If it is physical illness that nags your mind, seek medical help.  If it is a financial dilemma, get the counsel of a man well versed in money matters.  If your problem is a marital one, go to a qualified minister or a trained marriage counselor.  Never allow yourself to stay in a discouraging rut.  Take action to make your life happier.

Guideline #3:  Learn to encourage yourself through spiritual reflection.   That is what King David did.  During one of the bleakest days of his life, David, “encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6, KJV).

May I add that this is the only reliable way to find encouragement in life’s midnight hours?

In his book, Rendezvous with History, Major General Courtney Whitney tells what General Douglas MacArthur did the night before the famed Inchon landing of the Korean War.  At 2:30 in the morning, the general turned to his Bible and read a few verses. Why?  He needed strength and encouragement.  And he knew where to find it.

 

Resource reading: Joshua 1.

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