“Discouragement always displaces hope and leaves you feeling something like this: It’s not working, so what’s the point?”

A thought by Steven Furtick, (2014-02-11) from his book, Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God's Voice Above All Others (Kindle Locations 2799-2800). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

I have had the potential for discouragement a few times this week. We overspent this last weekend and I knew that we were going to be real tight till the next paycheck. I don’t do real well with that. But we set up a plan and we are making it. Many of you understand the discouragement of not have enough money to live on.

My wife, Margaret has been having some real trouble with her shoulder. It even wakes her up in the night. The physical therapy is real painful and doesn’t seem to be working and that can be very discouraging for her. We’re working through that and headed into another plan of attack. But many of you understand the discouragement of pain.

Yesterday I had some trouble in finding the right thought to write on and I was tempted to stop. The hopeless feeling of not knowing what to do can be discouraging. But I found something and it was exactly what some of you needed and you shared with me that fact. Many of you are discouraged in your work.

Discouragement comes in so many different ways as I’m sure some of you are feeling today and it can lead you to the point of asking, “It’s not working, so what’s the point?” Is that where you are today? I know some of you are there because I was lead to share this thought for you. God works that way.

One thing Steven says is, “remember—the Enemy’s goal goes way beyond putting you in a bad mood temporarily. He’s trying to talk you out of trusting God’s plan for your life at a foundational level. And he’s not just trying to derail you. He aims to limit the impact God wants to make through you and beyond you.”

Life is tough. It was tough for the Apostle Paul, it was tough for Mother Teresa and it was tough for Jesus. As Steven says, “But discouragement need not be a dead end. Properly navigated, it can become a doorway to discovering the comfort and courage of Christ in untold measures.”

Don’t give up. Remember these three encouraging thoughts that Steven gives, “1. You’re doing better than you think you are. 2. It’s less about you than you think it is. 3. You matter more than you think you do.”

Hold in there. What you are going though is not a dead end. And you are not alone.

So how are you doing?

Comments

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life. It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed. Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life. Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you. You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good. Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...

“Sometimes we think we’re stuck simply because things are hard.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog