Discouraged?

DISCOURAGED?

You know, often in life, we come upon times where we feel overwhelmed by life and what we have going on in it, and we can feel discouraged concerning a task or a multitude of them ahead of us. Sometimes I have that going on for a short time while trying to perform everything I'm expected to get done in church, but of course, I get them done, but some people let it get them discouraged. Shall we see what the bible has to say about being discouraged, and if it has encouragement to offer?
When taking over command of the entire Israelite nation from Moses, you might imagine this to be rather overwhelming for Joshua, and besides, he was not familiar nor comfortable with so great a task, let alone the fact God typically did all His talking with Moses and Aaron, not him. But our omniscient God knew the heart of Joshua, and so spoke to him this to uplift him from feeling discouraged at his daunting task at hand: "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." (Josh. 1:9) I don't know about you, but if God spoke to me this way, I'd be springing in my steps with confidence! It's one thing to read words of confidence, and another to actually hear them!

Sometimes overcoming discouragement is a matter of faith in God. If it is typical for you who are reading this to go to church every week, you surely have heard the phrase "Wait on the Lord" When you focus on His omnipotence, and the fact that He who created all things is in control of all those things He has created, then you know too that it is only a matter of waiting on Him that in due time, He will fix all the tribulations in life that might discourage you. See here what David wrote: "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD." (Psa. 27:13 - 14)

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." (Psa. 43:5) See how David here used mental willpower to call upon his faith in God and willed himself to hope in God to bring him out of his discouragement? We likewise need to do the same thing when we are in a season in which a situation or number of enemies presses us into feeling discouraged. Consider that perhaps it is a test from God to mature our Christian faith.

Jesus Himself gave instruction concerning when a person allows things to depress them; "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also... Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:1 - 3, 27) Notice that within the same chapter, Jesus says, "Let not your heart be troubled" twice? From whence does depression come from; God or the devil, or from within man himself? While God certainly does not want you to be depressed, the devil definitely does, because that can lead to doubt, and doubt certainly makes it impossible to please God. "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." (Heb. 11:6) So Jesus said twice not to let your heart be troubled, because He knew that depression is a condition of the heart that leads to doubt, or possibly even giving up on life. And see too, how He gave peace; not of the worldly type, but rather of the spiritual type, which defeats depression. Peace and depression are very different emotions.

John recorded this other saying of Jesus concerning the difference between peace and tribulation: "These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) Now here Jesus is talking to His apostles, but it certainly applies to us, as well. Tribulation, strife, depression, anxiety, doubt, fear - these things come from being in the world, including in your frame of mind! If our mind is on the things of this world, we will surely receive these mental attitudes in our head on the occasions on which tribulation slaps us in the face and we let go of our spiritual frame of mind for however long. But keeping our minds on the things of heaven and our spiritual rewards promised, and on Christ, and what He taught, and what He did for us at the cross - concentrating on these things are from where He is telling us to receive peace of mind from being depressed.

"Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;" (Col. 1:4 - 5) In Paul's letter to the Collosians, Paul notes they are blessed with three pillars of Christian graces: Faith, hope, and love. Nobody can be depressed if they have these three, the greatest being love. Why is love the greatest? "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." (1 Cor. 13:13) Charity is another word for love, and you see what Paul wrote of it here! "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18) See how love in its perfection drives out fear? The fingertips of fear are in the emotion of depression, as are also the fingertips of doubt. If your mind is concentrated on the love of God, in all that He has done for you, and has promised you, depression cannot fit in with that same line of thought simultaneously!

Depression is a time of need. We need to realize His grace, and in His omniscience, God knows of our need of that grace, and that is when the believer receives His grace and mercy. "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Heb. 4:16) We come to Him in our state of depression, and count on Him to lift us from it!

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." (1 Pet. 1:3 - 9) You know, in one's depression, the Christian needs to remind themselves of God's blessings, which includes redemption! We are feeling what man can do to us oftentimes, and that's wrong way thinking! "In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me." (Psa. 56:11) "The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?" (Psa. 118:6)

Do they who are depressed know that God's will is always best for His children? Sometimes we are being chastened by God, but we should not let that depress us, for He is showing us His love! "Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee." (Deut. 8:5) "For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." (Heb. 12:6 - 8) "And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." (1 John 5:14 - 15) See how this verse says He knows what's best for us? If we ask something according to His will, believe, and He will give it! If you are depressed, it is not outside His will that you cannot ask Him to lift you out of your depression, now is it?

"And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." (Rev. 22:1 - 5) No matter how long some trial or tribulation may last, let the depressed concentrate their focus on this fact of faith in the book of Revelation; we who believe look forward to a fullness of life that is non-stop blessed, in communion with God, reigning in heaven! Whatever aches, pains, torments or tortures that life here on earth has for us, we must not let that depress us, for we who believe have a God who will not let us suffer more than we can tolerate; "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (1 Cor. 10:13) Depression is a temptation. A temptation to doubt. We must all fight doubt and depression at some points in our lives. Let us remember these good things in God's word to lift us out of depression!