Skip to main content

Discouragement Knocks...Don't Answer!

We have this yorkshire terrier named Sergeant that we've had for 8 years. He's part of the family and my best little buddy. He got very, very sick this weekend and by the grace of God we were able to get him to the animal hospital at a point when he could have died instead. He got sick over the weekend in the early morning hours of Sunday so we were unable to watch him like we would have liked because of church and couldn't take him in anyway because of the weekend. While we waited for Monday to roll around and prayed for him to pull through, we couldn't help but hear discouragement and worry knocking on the door....maybe a little guilt thrown in there too because hey, why not? It seems like discouragement is always lurking around the corner during hard times and it seems like the easiest most natural thing to do is to give in and open that door to let it in.

Psalm 125 is a good reminder of what to do when discouragement knocks:
A song of ascents.
 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore. The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous,for then the righteous might use their hands to do evil. Lord, do good to those who are good, to those who are upright in heart. But those who turn to crooked ways the Lord will banish with the evildoers.Peace be on Israel.

When discouragement or defeat is knocking we have two choices:
1) To answer and walk down the path of discouragement, fear, worry, anger, defeat, darkness and heaviness, or
2) Don't answer. Look to the Heavens instead for encouragement, hope, joy, freedom, light and life.

The first is a path of darkness focused on yourself with little to no way out;  the latter is a path full of life with your way out being to look up at the strongest, biggest mountain you can lean on - Jesus. Jesus is the mountain; Jesus is your strength. When you feel discouragement or defeat knocking, pause, look to the Heavens, and ask Jesus for direction and encouragement. Giving a head nod in his direction won't help any. Stop what you're doing, spend time in prayer, praise or worship and redirect your perspective and path on the only One who matters. The circumstances may not change at all, but your attitude toward the circumstances will. You can look at any situation with new eyes that see things clearly with a focus solely on Jesus and his will for your life.

We prayed and took Sergeant to the animal hospital with confidence that Jesus and the amazing doctors would take care of him. He spent almost a week there being loved on, medicated and nursed back to health. He received prayer from the techs and from all our family and friends. By the time he was ready to go home, he was a happy healthy boy. We were sad for our little dog but God used the experience to teach us to be encouraged in discouraging times and to unite seemingly unconnected people with the same goal and purpose. We feel like this is something God wants us to carry into all aspects of our lives.

Next time you feel like discouragement or defeat are waiting outside your door, please take time with Jesus and ask for a shift in focus. You'll be surprised with the effect. :)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Be an Idiot for God

You know that kind of dirt that is just old and crusty and doesn't yield much growth? It takes patience, rain, plowing, love and care to change the chemistry of that soil. After it has been healed, the soil is moist, dark brown and smells like earth. But it didn't get to that point without a little work. Think of yourself as the old dirt. God wants to plow up the old crusty part of your life that isn't fruitful anymore and replace it with new, moist, healthy soil to plant good seed. God wants to take you higher than you've ever been before but you have to want it. The process may be painful but the fruit will be delicious. I want to encourage you to come into the newness of the spirit but you'll need the strength of God to get your through, not your own strength. Last week, my husband and I had to take his truck in because it was like riding Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. For whatever reason, the tires we received a couple months ago shredded and needed to be replaced...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reforming Undesirable Behavior

You know that thing you do that you don't wanna do but you keep doing it because you can't stop doing it? These behaviors might include: lying, cheating, raging, gossiping, pornography, drinking, drugs, eating, throwing up, etc. Reforming these behaviors on your own can prove to be a little tricky. I'd say reforming undesirable behavior might even be impossible on your own. But there is still hope for us. With the love of God, the power of the Holy Spirit and a renewed mind, you can reform your behavior. Youth conference with lots of God encounters! An encounter with God is the easiest way to reform undesirable behavior because the encounter will fill you with the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord renews our minds in a way that informs our bodies of what's beneficial to our spiritual health in the eyes of God. So, your mouth doesn't want to lie anymore; your tongue won't allow you to eat certain things; your eyes will be opened to the evil of pornogra...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Mobile Church

I love the picture to the right, taken by a friend in the church. It's the perfect picture of God's light shining down on his church. The symbolism of it is perfect: the church is soaking up God's light and charging its people inside to do God's work. I don't know about you but I always feel refreshed and recharged after connecting with a body of believers. Our light gets "re-brightened" and we are energized to keep going. God wants us to take His light out to the people - His church (the light bearers) is not to be confined by four walls and our own preconceived notions. I think a lot of Christians are afraid to be " the light of the world " for fear of being judged or cast out socially. God wants us to hand over our fear of looking stupid and get desperate for him to change our lives. To rid ourselves of this fear, we have to open our hearts to what God desires and ask him to fill us with his light and wisdom in its place. When you open your...
Post a Comment
Read more