Encouragement / Discouragement

Discouragement – Day 6

Fear and Discouragement are Brothers

Fear and discouragement go hand-in-hand. When we are discouraged over a set of circumstances, we’re fearful that these circumstances won’t work out to our liking. For example, finances. I remember prior to salvation, as a young married couple, my husband and I got into credit card debt. We both were discouraged. I remember staying up at night worrying and trying to come up with a solution but no solution could be found. I got more and more discouraged and then I became afraid. I was afraid of losing our car, our home, etc. Praise the Lord I was saved and delivered from this!!

My friend, this is a problem with a solution! Jesus, Himself, said that fear (and discouragement) comes from lack of faith in Mark 4:40. You do not need to stay discouraged. The longer you stay in this state, the harder it will be for you to get out. You must recognize your condition and immediately deal with it. Otherwise you are inviting the devil to bring you down deeper and deeper.

Get into the Word of God – force yourself to do so.

The Word will build your faith and will help you cleanse yourself. Encouraging one’s self is an on-going process – it’s not something you do once in a while. You wouldn’t miss a meal, would you? Without eating, you would get sick and eventually die. It’s the same with your spiritual body.

As you read the Word and encourage your spirit, you will be building your faith. You will see that the Lord will take care of those details which discourage you even when you think it is hopeless. God sees the “big picture” and knows exactly what you need. You must trust Him to do so. The Apostles in the boat were frightened and Jesus was right there with them. Well, my friend, you have Jesus’ Spirit living within you and He is right there with you as well. 

Your Heavenly Father knows your “make up” as He created you. He knows just how much you can take. You may not see an “end” to your circumstances, but stay strong in the Word and your faith will carry you through.