RISE Part 2 – Week 1: How To Deal With Discouragement (Male edition)
What is discouragement?
Discourage: To deprive of confidence, hope, or spirit; dishearten; daunt.
THREE STAGES OF DISCOURAGEMENT
1. MILD: Minor problems or pressures which affect our emotions.
2. STRONG: Major problems or pressures which affect our spirits so that others notice. Note: Those closest to you may think they caused your discouragement unless you assure them otherwise.
3. DISABLING: Overwhelming problems or pressures which drain us of spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical strength. Our hearts melt within us, and we have no desire, energy, or ability to go on
THE CAUSE OF DISCOURAGEMENT
At the base of every discouragement is a lie from Satan. Fear, unbelief, bitterness, self-pity, or condemnation are all based on Satan’s lies.
The root cause of this is found in seeing our circumstances through the lens of our minds instead of through our confidence of God’s Word. (See Ephesians 6:16.) When we lose sight of God’s ways or our resources in Christ, we remove the spiritual protection which Christ provided for us in the shield of faith.
THE BENEFIT OF DISCOURAGEMENT
● Confirmation of our need for God.
● He will destroy our delight in temporal things. (See Philippians
3:7–11.)
● He will destroy our confidence in human effort. (See Romans
7:22–24.)
● He has ordained that through our weakness His strength is made
perfect. (See 2 Corinthians 12:9–10.)
STEPS TO CONQUER DISCOURAGEMENT
The steps are as follows:
1. REMOVE ANY GUILT. Guilt is removed by repentance and confession. (See 1 John 1:8–9.) Satan will try to use past failures to keep us from removing guilt and dealing with discouragement.
2. TAKE UP THE SHIELD OF FAITH: “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” (Ephesians 6:16)
a. How do we “take up the shield of faith?” We take up the shield of faith by quoting God’s truth when we recognize Satan’s lies. (See 2 Corinthians 10:5.)
b. The following are some of Satan’s fiery darts to which we must respond with God’s truth:
Lie: God has left me
God’s Truth: “Never will I leave you…” Hebrews 13:5
Lie: No good will come from this.
Truth: “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose…” Romans 8:28-29
Lie: People hurt me.
Truth: “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies,…” Ephesians 6:12
Lie: God is punishing me.
Truth: “For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punished each one he accepts as his child…” Hebrews 12:6-11
Lie: I am weak.
Truth: “…My power works best in weakness…” 2 Corinthians 12:9
3. ENCOURAGE OUR HEARTS IN THE LORD
David’s greatest calamity came just a few days before he was established as the king. (See I Samuel 30:6.) Satan often brings to us the greatest discouragements just before God fulfills our expectations.
a. How do we encourage our hearts in the Lord? We let God’s Spirit commune with our spirits through the Psalms and other books of encouragement. We must not allow our mind, will, or emotions (soul) to communicate with our spirit, but rather make every effort to have God’s Spirit (through His Word) communicate to our spirit.
b. We meditate on God’s truth every night as we go to sleep, for it is at night that we are usually faced with the most intense discouragement.
4. ESTABLISH A PLACE TO BE ALONE WITH GOD
We need to establish a “Bethel,” which means “House of God,” for personal times to be with the Lord. (See Genesis 28:10-19 and Luke 6:12.) It must be away from the phone, work, or other pressures.
5. REMOVE OURSELVES FROM FEARFUL PEOPLE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE:
One of God’s requirements for service in the army of Israel was to be full of faith and void of fear. (See Deuteronomy 20:8 and Judges 7:3.) A fearful person will spread his fear among others and make them fearful.
6. READ BIOGRAPHIES OF GREAT CHRISTIANS:
We will discover every person whom God used mightily went though times of great discouragement. God’s work in their lives provides an important overview for us. We are able to see our trouble from a bigger perspective and discover God’s purpose, comfort, and direction. (See 2 Corinthians 1:4)
7. AVOID MAKING MAJOR DECISIONS DURING TIMES OF DISCOURAGEMENT:
It is so easy for Satan to get us to make major decisions during times when we are not thinking clearly or responding by faith. Never doubt in the darkness what God has shown you in the light. “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” (Galatians 6:9)
8. OVERCOME THE PRIDE OF NOT TELLING LEADERS, FAMILY, OR FRIENDS THAT WE ARE DISCOURAGED AND NEED THEIR PRAYERS: Sometimes we feel reluctant to tell others that we are discouraged. We want others to believe that we are strong and able to quickly overcome setbacks. However, this can’t be pride in our lives. Our honesty in sharing needs will help others to realize that they are not the only ones who experience discouragement. As we humble ourselves, God will give us more grace, and our response will be a living example to those who are praying for us.
9. FOCUS ON GOD’S REPUTATION:
When we are discouraged, it is very important to evaluate whose reputation will suffer-ours or God’s. If our reputation suffers, it means that our concerns are for our program or that we are in charge. We always need to make sure we are doing God’s work in God’s way.
10. FOCUS ON OUR POSITION IN CHRIST:
Consider what Christ endured in order to glorify God and to secure our salvation. (See Hebrews 12:1-17.) Know your resources. Because we are in Christ, we are able to enter into His victory over Satan. We can accomplish victory by quoting Romans 6:1-11 and using the word discouragement for in place of the word sin: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on being discouraged so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to discouragement; how can we live in it any longer?”
11. OFFER THE SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE TO GOD: It is important for us to recall God’s blessings and thank Him for what He has done. (See 1 Thessalonians 5:18.) When King Jehoshaphat and the army sang and praised the Lord, God set an ambush against their enemies. (See 2 Chronicles 20:21-22.) There is a spiritual power over Satan in audibly praising God.
12. REMEMBER THE PRINCIPLE OF THE BIRTH, DEATH, AND FULFILLMENT OF A VISION:
God will give us a vision of how we can be effectively used by Him. God will then allow us to experience the death of a vision to build character in our lives. God will then fulfill His vision through us in a supernatural way.
EG: Joseph is a great example of how this principle works. At 17 Joseph had a dream about his future – this is the birth of a vision! Then his brothers got jealous and sold him into slavery and for the next 13 years he endured great challenges – this is the death of the vision. However he stayed focused and true to God and kept interpreting other peoples dreams even when he couldn’t understand what was happening to his. Finally, in the midst of his hardship, at the age of 30, Pharoah had a dream and couldn’t interpret it and someone pointed out that the prisoner Joseph interprets dreams. He was summoned before Pharoah and successfully interpreted the dream; in one day he went from being a prisoner to be the prime minister of Egypt. This is the fulfilment of the vision! This principle is a big life principle – you dream it, you encounter challenges that can discourage you however if you hold on and grow in character, God will make sure you fulfill it.
Homework: Think about where you are in the journey – which stage are you in?