When Your Discouraged

When Your Discouraged (1 Kings 19:1-13a, 15-18) No Christian is immune to discouragement. (Acts 27:20; 1 Kings 19:3-4) Sometimes when we are discouraged we lose our perspective and we view our situation as worse than it actually is. “We all live in two environments, the one being the world around us, the other our thoughts about that world. The larger world cannot affect us directly, it must be meditated to us by our thoughts, and will be to us at last only what we allow it to be… External things and events are the raw material only, the finished product is whatever the mind makes of these.” – A.W. Tozer Many of God’s greatest heroes in the Bible suffered from periods of darkness and discouragement including Elijah, David, Jeremiah and Simon Peter. Discouragement: to decrease courage; to be faint-hearted; to lose hope; to be dismayed; the lack of desire to move forward or stand for convictions. Stages of Discouragement 1. Mild = Minor problems or pressure which effect our emotions 2. Strong = Major problems of pressures which affect our spirit so that other will notice 3. Disabling = Overwhelming problems or pressures which drain us of spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical strength. Our hearts melt within us and we have no ability to go on. Depression: A hopelessness that’s not consistent with reality. A temporary condition emotional state with exaggerated feelings of sadness. More than discouragement that makes negative circumstances overwhelms a person’s life. Depression in itself is not sin. It is a symptom of something disturbing the balance in your life. Symptoms of depression: 1. Weight loss or weight gain. 2. Loss of sleep and energy. 3. Lose interest in most or all pleasurable activities. 4. Reduced ability to concentrate. 5. Overcome with feelings of hopelessness or uselessness.

More than 17 million Americans suffer from depression. The resulting absenteeism and loss of productivity is estimated to cost the American economy more than $20 billion each year. Edward F. Ziegler calls depression "the common cold of psychological disorders.” It is just that common. Heb. Shachach, cast down, brought low, despairing (Ps. 42:5) Heb. Hamah, disquieted, mourning (Ps. 42:5) Winston Churchill, considered by many to be one of history’s most courageous men, suffered terribly from depression most of his adult life. He once commented that it followed him around like “a black dog.” Abraham Lincoln, whose a “House Divided Against Itself” speech helped win him the presidency, knew all too well in his own life the awful divisiveness of doubt and depression. As a young man he wrote, “I am now the most miserable man living. Whether I shall ever be better, I cannot tell. I fear I shall not.” After his amazing journey to the moon, astronaut Buzz Aldrin found that he was unable to cope with the life to which he returned and he suffered for years with terrible depression! Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers of all time, known for his outstanding ability to communicate God’s Word, his sparkling wit and quick humor, who addressed crowds of 5,000 people by age 30, suffered a lifetime battle with depression. “My success,” he writes, “appalled me and the thought of that career which seem. Both discouragement and depression can be a result of focusing on circumstances. Jesus Himself said his followers would have suffering in this world (John 16:33) Our “testing” is to prove something to ourselves and others, God already knows! Max Lucado puts its well when he says, “God likes you just the way you are but He loves you too much to let you stay that way!” Perhaps, if you are overwhelmed, it is time to share your burdens. Or if you see that another is overwhelmed, it is time for you to share their burdens.

God is patient with prodigal prophets. We should strive to avoid self-pity. Chuck Swindoll writes, “Self-pity mauls its way inside our minds like a beast and claws us to shreds.” We should turn our concerns over to God and trust that He will respond with love. Often a re-commissioning follows a period of discouragement. God can use others to encourage and reassure us. Sometimes He uses a word of Scripture, a word from a friend, a song, or a sermon that touches our heart This is one reason why we must not forsake gathering together So that we can both encourage others and being encouraged by them Back in 1999 Duke University conducted a study of nearly 4000 older adults. One of their conclusions: "Attendance at a house of worship is related to lower rates of depression and anxiety." Sometimes God uses angelic intervention (1 Kings 19:5-8) At times we must pause for physical and spiritual refreshment. Sometimes we may need to re-evaluate our situation to rediscover our faith, purpose and calling. (1 Kings 19:9b) Solitude in a place of sanctuary can help us focus on worship and better hear God’s voice. (Ps. 91:1) God’s guidance and blessing often comes in quiet ways to a still and listening heart. (Ps. 46:10) “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isa. 40:31)

God’s presence is the one constant in life. (Ps. 139:7-10; Joshua 1:9; Isaiah 41:10; 42:5& 11; 43:2; Jer. 1:8; Heb. 13:5; Rom. 4:20-24, Num. 6:26) You are not alone. You have brothers and sisters in Christ, fellow-servants. But even when they may be unavailable, God is never unavailable. Divine silence does not equate to divine disinterest or inactivity. When allied troops were making their way across Europe to cross Hitler’s forces, they came across a bombed out building that had this inscription scrawled on a basement wall: "I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining. I believe in love even when it is not shown. And I believe in God even He doesn’t speak." God’s presence should be assurance enough God is all-knowing: Nothing surprises God God is all powerful: Nothing is too difficult for God God is faithful/trustworthy (Deut. 7:9; Isa. 49:7; 1 Cor. 1:9; 10:13; Heb. 10:23; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Thess. 5:24; Titus 1:2; 2 Tim. 2:13; John 1:9)