Why Discouragement (Part 1)

With everything that is going on in our world, the odds of you being discouraged are pretty high. Between the things that are beyond our control like the economy, politics, healthcare, terrorism, world problems, etc. and the ones that are a little closer to home like family issues, sickness, bills, etc. there is a good chance you will find yourself on the receiving end of some "discouraging" news. We often associate discouragement with disappointment, but disappointment and discouragement are not the same thing.  Disappointment is an emotional response to a failed expectation whereas discouragement is becoming fainthearted to the point of wanting to give up and quit. Discouragement develops when we allow disappointments to continue "unresolved."  In this post I want to share with you how disappointment and discouragement differ and in the following post what are the causes and how to avoid discouragement.

Disappointment

There are two characteristics that are always a part of disappointment.  The first is, disappointments are "inevitable."  As you live your life, you will encounter disappointments.  I don't care if it's the disappointment of not getting a raise, or being disappointed because you didn't make an "A" on your test.  Life is full of disappointments because they are inevitable.  The second characteristic of disappointments is that they are "unpredictable." You never know when a disappointment will occur. Everything could be going just great in your life and then you find out your son got a speeding ticket on his way to school. Disappointments are inevitable and unpredictable and can lead to discouragement when left "unresolved."

Discouragement

There are five characteristics that help distinguish between disappointment and discouragement.

• Discouragement is a "choice."  You make the choice whether or not you will embrace discouragement.  Don't live in self pity, but rather live in the life of fulfillment that God has given you.
• Discouragement is "reoccurring."  You have to know that there will always be events that will threaten you with discouragement.  That is just the nature of life in this world.  Jesus said: "...In this world you will have tribulation.  But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)  
• Discouragement is "contagious."  Not only do you have to be careful what you say because you can spread discouragement to others, you have to be careful what you listen to because others can spread discouragement to you!
• Discouragement is very "destructive."  Discouragement can put you into a deep depression. It will cloud your thinking and your ability to make clear decisions.  
• Discouragement is "conquerable."  It's conquerable if you want to.  If you don't have a desire to overcome and conquer discouragement you will remain in your self pity and depression.  But praise God, there is hope when we put our trust and dependence in the Lord!  (More on this in my next post.)

Next week I will cover the causes of discouragement, the consequences of discouragement and how to avoid it.  Until then, you can begin today on the road to victory over discouragement by recognizing the difference between disappointment and discouragement and ask God to help you overcome.

-- Pastor Temple

Facing Your Anxiety

No matter how hard we may try to avoid worry and anxiety it's just not possible to always be worry free!  But there is a difference between anxiety over an upcoming final exam or business presentation and living a life that is fraught with constant worry and fretting over everything.  The Lord doesn't want us to live in a constant state of dread due to life's uncertainties.  It is important for us to know what anxiety is, what we should do with it and why we can't let it control us.  In this post I want to address these issues as well as show you the correct manner in which to deal with anxiety and worry.

1.  What Is Anxiety?

The word anxiety means "to be distracted or pulled apart."  By definition it is the opposite of peace, which means "to be bound together."  Anxiety can also be defined as "dread, apprehension, and uncertainty" and can be caused by past, present, or future events.  Sometimes, anxiety can be caused by a fear of not being in control or of feeling vulnerable.

2.  What Are The Sources Of Anxiety?

It is important to note that God is not the source of anxiety or worry.  These two emotions do not fit our identity as followers of Christ.  Instead, God is the "cure" for anxiety.  Jesus told His disciples that they need not worry about what they were going to eat or drink or wear.  He said if the Father takes care of the birds in air, that how much more would He take care of His children. It's important to understand that there are three sources for our anxieties.

• Legitimate Causes:  There are times that we will be anxious about something that is legitimate.  For example, if you are making a big presentation to your boss it is natural that you would be a little nervous maybe even somewhat anxious.  But it is only temporary and shouldn't be something that totally paralyzes you.
• Inappropriate Reasons:  Some reasons for anxiety that aren't legitimate and we would call
  
  inappropriate are things like not getting what you want.  For instance suppose you desire to have a relationship with someone, but you know it isn't right because they are married or they are in another state and there is no way you can be together.  Worrying over things that you can't control is inappropriate.
• Unacknowledged Issues:  When we don't take the time and energy to deal with the cause of our anxiety, it takes up long-term residence within us, causing all sorts of emotional and even physical problems.  God doesn't want His children to live this way.

3.  Why Should We Avoid Anxiety?

There are many reasons we should avoid anxiety but the most important one is that it isn't scriptural.  In Matthew 6:25-34 Jesus admonishes His disciples three times with the words "do not be anxious."  The reason for us to not be anxious is because of the negative effect it has in our lives.  Anxiety will:

• Divide our minds.  Apprehension pulls us in two different directions making it hard to focus on important matters.  It divides and clouds our mind.
• Slow down our productivity.  Because we are distracted with worry, we can't give anything else our best efforts.  It causes indecision.
• Affect our personal relationships with others.  It's hard to keep our anxieties to ourselves. When we're filled with fear, we burden those around us.
• Lead to unwise decisions.  Those who are overly concerned about the future are prone to make hasty decisions to stop feeling uncertain.
• Steal our joy and peace.  You become irritable and angry.  It's impossible for us to be fretful and peaceful at the same time.
• Proves to be a terrible waste of time and energy.  Uncertainty, frustration, and worry are exhausting and achieve nothing and can even have a devastating effect on our health and causes us to anticipate problems. It can be mental cruelty and torment.

4.  What Is The Correct Way To Deal With Anxiety?

With so much at stake, it's foolish to give in to anxiety or seek a quick, easy fix and temporary relief.  If your days and weeks and months are filled with continual anxiety and worry here are six strategies to help you.

• Bring your worries to God.  Whatever is troubling you is a matter for prayer.  The first step to freedom is confessing your fears to the Lord rather than let them rule you.  1 Peter 5:7 tells us to "cast all our cares on him, because he cares for us."
• Come to the Lord with an attitude of thanksgiving.  In the midst of your apprehension, you may not feel grateful, but when you think about God's loving involvement in your life, you can't help but praise him.  "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;" Philippians 4:6
• Come with an expectation.  Remember the Lord loves you unconditionally and wants the best for you.  Also, He has the desire and power to help, so you can expect Him to do just that.
• Recognize that anxiety is a faith battle.  We must believe that God will set us free from our anxieties.  If we surrender our concerns into His hands, we can have His amazing peace, no matter what we face in life.
• Equip yourself with the Word.  Confess the Word over every situation.
• Refuse to worry.  Learn to trust God and not your feelings.

Don't be guilty of giving your cares to the Lord when you pray and then pick them back up minutes later.  God wants to take all of your cares away.  He is fully capable of handling them when they become too great of a burden for you to bear.  You don't have to live with anxiety.  God will give you grace to overcome.

What are you worried about today, that God is ready to handle for you? Give it to Him so you can be free from the cares of the world.

Resting In The Faithfulness Of God

Everyone, at some time in their life, will have feelings of frustration.  This is especially true when you have prayed and asked God to meet some need and that prayer goes unanswered.  Some times when that happens there are people who give up and claim God is not who He says He is.  This happens because we tend to judge our situations based on how we feel and as a result we question God's faithfulness.  To show God's absolute reliability and faithfulness I want to share with you four truths about God and His faithfulness.

1.  The Attributes Of God

God has many attributes that we could discuss but there five that speak directly to His faithfulness to humanity.

• Omniscient -- To be omniscient means to be "all knowing."  God can be faithful because He knows everything!  Everything in the past, present, and future.  He knows our needs, wants, and desire as well as our weaknesses and frailties.  Speaking to His disciples and others, Jesus said that "...your Father knows what you have need of before you ask Him" (Matthew 6:8b). 
• Omnipotent -- This simply means God is "all powerful."  Because God is omnipotent He can accomplish anything He needs to accomplish to help us work through our circumstances
  
  and provide for us what is needed.
• Omnipresent -- God is everywhere and available at all times.  We will never find ourselves in a situation where He's not present and able to come to our aid when we cry out to Him in prayer. 
• Truthful -- God's character of truthfulness is essential to His faithfulness.  Titus 1:2 tells us that God will never lie or misguide us.  He also cannot deny Himself and will always remain true to His own nature.
• Immutable -- God never changes.  His character is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. If God changed who He was, then everything would be uncertain. This immutable attribute of God should be a great source of assurance for believers.

2.  God Makes Two Kinds Of Promises

• Unconditional -- Many of the promises of God are unconditional and nothing we can do will change them.  Examples would be the rainbow as a symbol of God's promise to never destroy the earth again with a flood; another is God's promise is that the dead in Christ will rise and we which are alive will be caught up with them.  And there are many others.
• Conditional -- Conditional promises of God depend upon the choices we make.  An example would be "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (condition) and all these other things will be added to you" (promise) Matthew 6:33.

3. Promises We Can Rely On

Below is a list of just a few of wonderful promises of God that speak to His faithfulness that we can rest in.

• His compassion never fails (Lamentations 3:22-23)
• He is faithful to a thousand generations (Deuteronomy 7:9)
• He will hasten His Word to perform it (Jeremiah 1:12)
• He will keep us from evil (2 Thessalonians 3:3)
• Rescue the godly from temptation (2 Peter 2:9)
• He will empower us to do whatever He has called us to accomplish (Philippians 4:13)
• If we confess our sins, He's faithful to forgive us (1 John 1:9)
• God will never allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13)
• God will meet our needs (Philippians 4:19)
• All things work together for good for those who love God (Romans 8:28)
• All who believe in Jesus Christ have eternal life (John 3:36)

4.  God Is Also Faithful To The Unbeliever

Those who only pretend to be Christians or who deny the truth of Jesus Christ are also promised punishment because of their unbelief or their false witness (Matthew 7:13; Revelation 20:11-15). God loves us unconditionally, but He is a God of truthfulness.  He keeps His promises as well as His warnings.

We aren't promised trial free lives when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, but we have a faithful God who will always help us through our difficulties.  Our Father will never fail to keep His promises, and this is why we can be strong and confident in Him.

What are you facing today that you need to give over to Him so that you can begin to "rest in the faithfulness of God?"

-- Pastor Temple

The Courage To Keep Going

If you have ever faced a difficult and painful situation in your life, you can identify with many people who, when faced with what seems to be overwhelming circumstances, just don't know what to do so they give up.  All of us have faced situations where we just have reached our human limits and are tired of fighting and we think giving up is the only answer.  The encouraging hope for every Christian is that God has given us a wonderful example in Christ and the Apostle Paul, of those who endured great hardship, yet had the courage to keep going.  I have eight observations from the life of Paul that should help you to have the courage to keep going in the face of adversity.

1.  He Had An Awareness That God Was With Him

In 2 Corinthians 11:22-28, Paul describes some of the adversities he faced.  Yet through them all, he knew the Lord was with him.  It's easy to believe God is with us when everything's fine, but when times are tough, we must cling to this truth so we won't become discouraged and give up.

2.  He Had The Experience Of The Lord's Strength Within Him

It was Paul who recognized that his strength did not come from himself.  In Philippians 4:13 he said "I can do all things through Him (Christ) who strengthens me."  If we are depending upon our own strength to overcome these difficult situations in our life, we will be disappointed.  There are times you will face situations you simply cannot handle and you have to give God the opportunity to show you how faithful and powerful He is and how adequate you can be when you trust Him.

3.  He Had The Assurance Of Being In God's Will

Knowing that he was accomplishing what the Lord had called him to do gave Paul the determination to keep going despite the hardship, rejection, and persecution.  Doing what we know God wants us to do will keep us going.

4.  He Had The Overflowing Joy Of Christ

Paul's joy was obvious.  He viewed all the things that had happened to him as an opportunity for the gospel to be spread.  It's easy to praise God and have joy when things are going well.  The test of who we believe our Lord to be, comes when we face the hardship.  Do we still have our confidence and joy in God or is it dependent on our circumstances?

5.  He Had An Appreciation For Life-Changing Lessons

Paul understood God's Word, that's why he could respond to trials with joy and perseverance.  Each situation was a chance to learn valuable lessons and grow in maturity.  God is always working for our good even during the hard times.  God hasn't forgotten us.

6.  He Had The Fruit God Produced Through Him

Paul traveled throughout the Roman Empire telling people about Christ and establishing churches in various cities.  After leaving those churches there were false teachers who led those churches astray.  Paul could have become discouraged and walked away from his ministry, but he didn't. Knowing that God is producing fruit through you, especially during the hardships, should give you the courage to keep going.

7.  He Had The Vision Of The Cross Before Him

Paul's only boast was in the cross of Christ because he knew it was the reason he could survive and keep going.  When Jesus willingly sacrificed Himself on our behalf, He set the ultimate example of perseverance.  Keep your eyes set on the cross!

8.  He Had A Love And Devotion To Jesus Christ

If we truly love Jesus, our loyalty will not be reserved only for the good times, but we'll remain faithful and obedient even when we experience the bad times.  Paul's devotion is described in these words to the Philippians "for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Are you tempted to give up today?  If so, take some encouragement from the life of the Apostle Paul and see how you too can have the courage to keep going.

-- Pastor Temple