Fighting discouragement

There have been plenty of times in my life where things didn’t go my way. My home life growing up was less than perfect, my time spent as a pastor could have gone better, and my personal life isn’t always what I want, either.

I can look back over all of these things that haven’t been disappointing and become disillusioned if I like. I could spend my time playing “woe is me,” and feel totally justified doing it. But instead, I choose to find hope. We all fight discouragement at times.

There are so many ways for us to get discouraged, and most of them involve the people around us: We get ridiculed. Nobody likes to be made fun of. People belittle us for our ambitions, optimism or enthusiasm We lose our confidence because we listen to other people, or we just don’t believe in ourselves.

But their opinions of us do not define us. We don’t have to listen to the critics or the naysayers. We can move on, knowing that God is on our side.

How we deal with adversity says more about our character than most anything else.

So how do we respond to discouragement? How do we find the strength to go on? Nehemiah had to deal with discouragement and opposition while he tried to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He was threatened, criticized and called a moron, yet he kept going. He can teach us a lot about moving ahead in discouraging times.

The first tool we have is prayer: “Then I prayed, ‘Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front of the builders.’” (Nehemiah 4:4-5)

But he didn’t stop at just asking God to do things, he also did his part. In Nehemiah 4:9 he says:

“But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.”

Throughout Nehemiah, there is a consistent order: “we prayed, and then we…”

The second tool is perseverance. All the prayer in the world won’t help you if you give up the first time things don’t go your way.

Finally, we need to remember who is on our side.

“After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, ‘Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.’” (Nehemiah 4:14)

Nehemiah says two things here, and they are both important:

One, “remember the Lord” — remember how far God has taken you. Remember his love and his grace. Remember that you are loved with a sacrificial love.

Two, “fight” — and he says, “fight for your loved ones.” If it comes to it, have the guts to fight.

So many Christians today are fighting the wrong battle. We are trying to be popular with the world instead of trying to change it. We are going along with the attitudes that are contrary to God’s word. It is time for us to fight the good fight. It is time for us to be God’s people, and do things God’s way. If we do that, there is no way we can lose. If we stand for God’s principles, our lives will count for something. Our lives can be full of hope, full of peace and full of victory.

Fighting with all I’m worth… Jerry.

Jerry Godsey can be reached at jerry@jerrygodsey.com or through his blog, The View From The Pew, at www.jerrygodsey.com