CULTIVATING A LIFESTYLE OF THANKSGIVING

Part Nine - Escape from Discouragement

Volume XIII Number 9                                                                                                                                         June 18, 2010

 

Thanks be to God who ALWAYS gives us the overwhelming victory - 2 Corinthians 2:14

                                                                                                                                             

Greetings in the name of Jesus!

 

Thanks for opening Prosperous Life Newsletter. We hope today's article will bless and edify you with the knowledge of the TRUTH of God's Word and cause your FAITH to grow stronger (Romans 10:17).

So many people these days are DISCOURAGED. It's a veritable epidemic that can be found everywhere including the Body of Christ. Mostly people feel down about their personal financial situations. But also the news media make it possible to get DISCOURAGED about international economic and environmental catastrophes as well. And there's a seemingly endless number of smaller issues to look for to make it worse. The result is that a lot of folks are feeling defeated and can't see themselves returning to the way life was before the onset of the particular problems that are "causing" their present DISCOURAGEMENT. Many folks are anxious, concerned and worried about the future and are wondering why God hasn't done something and come to their rescue.

The word DISCOURAGEMENT means literally "the loss of one's courage." When we become DISCOURAGED, we lose the ability to deal with the related challenges and problems with confidence and resolve. DISCOURAGEMENT is an emotion that doesn't feel very good but a LOT of people have become accustomed to it and consider it to be an acceptable reaction to difficult circumstances. How could we not be DISCOURAGED in the face of all the hardships and uncertainties we're facing? Day after miserable day they live with it until it becomes a part of who they are. Chronically DISCOURAGED people like to tell us about their problems and about just how DISCOURAGED they are because what they're facing is the worst set of circumstances anyone has ever faced in the history of the world. They've become people of FEAR instead of FAITH; indeed, FEAR is a root cause of DISCOURAGEMENT.

The Cause of Discouragement

Now Jesus said a whole bunch of times we're not supposed to give in to fear: "Do not worry about tomorrow" (Matthew 6:34); and "don't let your heart be troubled" (John 14:1, 14:27); and "peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you" (John 14:27); and "no one will take your joy away from you" (John 16:22); and "why are you afraid?" (Mark 4:40); and "do not fear" (Luke 5:10); and "Do not be afraid" (Revelation 1:17); etc. Over and over again the Bible tells us to NOT allow ourselves to manifest the emotions that ALWAYS ultimately result in DISCOURAGEMENT. We're just not supposed to be worried or troubled or anxious or fearful. Sometimes we just gloss over those kinds of scriptures as if they're only expressing God's suggestions for something we can choose to go along with or not depending on how we feel. But if we take all those scriptures and a lot of others exactly as they're written and if we regard them as instruction for our lives, they lead to two basic principles:

> We have the ability to NOT be DISCOURAGED when we're facing unfavorable circumstances.  

> We have a responsibility to resist DISCOURAGEMENT when it tries to come against us.

Most people think that their problems and difficult circumstances are the cause of their DISCOURAGEMENT. But if Jesus said over and over again the equivalent of "don't be discouraged," then there's NO circumstance that can ever have the power to make us be DISCOURAGED. Likewise, the devil may have the power to send both the circumstance and the DISCOURAGEMENT our way, but he doesn't have either the power or the authority to make born-again Believers accept either condition if we don't want to. No, Jesus would not have told us to not let our hearts be troubled if we didn't have the ability to overcome DISCOURAGEMENT. The real cause of our DISCOURAGEMENT then is that we fail to RESIST it and by default we allow it to come into our thinking and destroy our peace and our FAITH. As a man thinks in his heart (mind), so is he (Proverbs 23:7).   

Instead of resisting DISCOURAGEMENT, what most folks try to do to is resist the problems and circumstances they're facing. No one really wants to be DISCOURAGED so we try to remove what we think is the "cause," which is the circumstances. We pray against the circumstances, we beg God to remove the circumstances and then we go out in our own strength to get rid of the circumstances. But the Word says God will take care of ALL the circumstances for us through GRACE (Hebrews 4:16) by FAITH (Ephesians 2:8). When we try to RESIST the circumstances ourselves, the DISCOURAGEMENT continues because we're focusing on the wrong thing and trying to do God's job. As the DISCOURAGEMENT continues further, our FAITH weakens; and as our FAITH weakens, we have increasing difficulty to receive God's GRACE; and in God's GRACE is the empowerment we need to overcome the circumstances. 

Thanksgiving Overcomes Discouragement

But once we've allowed ourselves to become DISCOURAGED, then the question is: what can we do now to get our of it, to overcome it and get the victory? The Bible says King David encouraged himself in the Lord (1 Samuel 30:6) when he was tempted to become DISCOURAGED. The Apostle Paul encouraged himself on many occasions when he faced significant trials and tribulations in his ministry and could have easily become DISCOURAGED. So, the message of the Bible particularly in the New Testament is that we resist and overcome DISCOURAGEMENT by encouraging ourselves in the Lord. We resist DISCOURAGEMENT proactively instead of working to resist and correct our circumstances and problems in our own strength. So, encouraging ourselves in the Lord is the way to proactively resist DISCOURAGEMENT.

There are a number of things we can do to encourage ourselves in the Lord: praying out loud, speaking in tongues, praising and magnifying God and meditating on the Word are all very effective for shaking off even hard core DISCOURAGEMENT. But one of the best ways to do it which happens to fit right in with this series is to start THANKING GOD FOR EVERYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF. Think about the good things in your life instead of your problems and then start THANKING God out loud until you run out of good things to THANK Him for. You probably won't run out but if you ever reach that point just start over.

What THANKSGIVING does is move our focus from our problems to Jesus and when we can do that, look to the following scriptures to find out what happens:

"...let us lay aside every weight (burden, difficulty and trial) and...let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, FIXING OUR EYES ON JESUS, the author and finisher of faith...CONSIDER HIM...so that you will NOT grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:1-3

"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on (Christ)." Isaiah 26:3

Friend THANKSGIVING moves our attention over to Jesus and away from the circumstances we've been worrying about and trying to fix ourselves. As a result the perfect PEACE that Jesus gave us (John 14:27) is re-established and we have an opportunity to cast our cares on the Lord. When we cast our cares on the Lord, it represents an act of humility because it's an ADMITION that we're not able to successfully overcome our problems without God's help. Because of humility God makes GRACE available (1 Peter 1:5-10) which we can receive by FAITH (Ephesians 2:8) and in the GRACE is the empowerment to overcome ALL our problems (Hebrews 4:16).  

It's not easy to win this battle but it can be done with practice and in a shorter time frame than you might think. Every time your MIND tries to dwell on your problems, make it move over to THANKSGIVING for the good things God has given you and God will take your cares and exchange them for GRACE. It's a promise!

Thanks for reading Prosperous Life Newsletter today and we'll be looking for you again in three weeks on July 9. In the meantime enjoy your summer in the PEACE and JOY that passes all understanding and let God work out your problems.

Sinners' Prayer

If you've never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life, you can do so today just by saying the following simple prayer:

Jesus I declare today with all my heart that I believe in you and that God raised you from the dead. I receive forgiveness for my sins and I ask you to come into my life today and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for salvation and eternal life.

If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.

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