Yan Hadley spoke tonight on the ‘deadly disease of discouragement’. Discouragement is like a virus which may start out in small ways but which is very contagious and can easily lead to depression and despair. In Num 13:31-33, we see how the spies coming back from the promised land were discouraged, talking of giants, high walls and the difficulties of taking the land and how their discouragement infected the people of Israel. (Num 14:1-2) We are urged to encourage each other and build each other up (1 Thess 5:11) every day (Heb 3:13), and encouragement is definitely needed, for the enemy seeks to discourage us on a daily basis. We need to have a sensitive spirit, a selfless mind, a listening ear and an encouraging heart if we are to overcome discouragement.
There are many examples of people who were discouraged at times in the Bible (e.g. Moses, Nehemiah, David, Job, Timothy) and in order to overcome discouragement, we need to understand the causes and characteristices of discouragement as well as God’s cure for it.
The Causes of Discouragement
- Fatigue. When we are physically tired, we are more prone to discouragement. Moses knew the burden of feeling overwhelmed and worn down (Num 11:14), and when we are weary and fatigued, we become more susceptible to discouragement.
- A Wounded Spirit. When we feel the hurts and disappointments caused by other people and life’s circumstances, we can become discouraged. Moses faced the people wanting to stone him (Num14:2-4, 10) and people’s thoughtless words and unkindness can leave us open to discouragement.
- Frustration. Nehemiah knew what it was to feel frustrated as there was rubble everywhere, hindering the rebuilding of the city walls. (Neh 4:10). Frustration leaves us tense and often discouraged. The pile of unfinished tasks which lie before us can make us feel like giving up.
- Unanswered Prayer. When we pray and fast and seek God and do not see any answers or change or breakthrough, we can easily become discouraged. Prov 13:12 reminds us that hope deferred makes the heart sick. The disciples on the road to Emmaus were facing discouragement because of dashed hopes (Luke 24:21) and we can often feel very disappointed with God.
- Failure. Failure always condemns, leaving us feeling that we have let ourselves, other people and God down. However, failure does not have to be fatal. David, Peter and John Mark are all examples of people who failed but who found God still used them. Failure doesn’t have to have the last word.
- Fear. Fear so often cripples us and discourages us from doing good things. (Neh 4:11) We fear criticism from others, making a mistake and taking responsibility. Again, the Bible encourages us by showing us people who overcome fear (Gideon and Timothy, for example.)
- Faulty Thinking. So often, we have distorted perceptions. Matt 6:22-23 reminds us that if the eye is sound, the body will be healthy; how we think affects so much. Elijah in 1 Kings 19:10 was so discouraged that he felt ready to die, but this was a result of faulty thinking (that he was the only prophet left serving God.) Thomas Jefferson once said that nothing can stop a man with a right mental attitude, and we need to take captive every thought and bring it to submission to Christ (2 Cor 10:5), allowing God to transform and renew our thinking. (Rom 12:1-2) The Israelites in the wilderness spoke of being better off in Egypt (Num 14:2-3) – a clear example of how fautly thinking can lead us astray.
