DISCOURAGEMENT
Life
is not always made up of mountain-top experiences. Sometimes,
it is lived down in the valley - which may lead to discouragement.
When
life is good
- we feel like taking on the world - courage
runs high.
"courage"
- (Webster) "The attitude or response of facing and dealing with anything
recognized as dangerous, difficult, or painful, instead of
withdrawing from it... Fearless or brave...."
But
when life is low
- or trouble is on the horizon - discouragement
is near.
"discourage"
- (Webster) "To deprive of courage; make less confident, or
hopeful, dishearten."
Example
of discouragement:
Josh.
2:8-11
Rahab
described Jericho's loss of courage in the face of Israel's
presence and the prospects of war.
Discouragement
robs us of enthusiasm and distracts our focus. It
blinds us to what is possible & emphasizes the negative. It
dismantles our hope & darkens our vision.
Discouragement
is the failure to use trials as opportunities for growth.
Good
parents will challenge
their children, but not break
them.
Fathers
are admonished not to be a discouragement to their children.
Col.
3:21 "Fathers,
do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged."
To
provoke is to become antagonistic - to "stir up" - or
demand that which
is beyond grasp & impossible to achieve
Our
heavenly Father knows how to admonish without discouraging:
Heb.
12:9-11 Chastening
is not pleasant, but it is
beneficial.
"chastening"
[paideia]
- "Denotes the training of a child, including instruction;
hence, discipline,
correction, chastening." (Vines)
How
does God do this - to admonish without discouraging?
1
Cor. 10:13 "No
temptation has overtaken you such as is common to man; but
God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted
beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will
also make the way of escape, that
you may be able to bear it."
Rom.
8:18, 28, 31-ff All things work for our good - even suffering.
If
God is for
us, who can be against us?
DISCOURAGEMENT
- Part 2
The
Challenge of Spiritual Growth
Consider
how the Father dealt with Jesus:
Heb.
12:1-8 Jesus was allowed to be exposed to "shame" &
"the cross" -
which involved contact with people who hated & abused Him.
Isa.
53:3 "He
is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did
not esteem Him."
The
experience of things suffered promotes growth & obedience.
Heb.
5:8 "Though
He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered."
God
gave Him a fleshly body subject to physical suffering & death.
Heb.
2:17-18 "Therefore,
in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He
might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things
pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the
people. (18) For
in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able
to aid those who are tempted."
So
must we learn & grow by those unpleasant
experiences that God permits us to be exposed to.
How
we deal with those growth opportunities will depend on
whether we become discouraged
or become spiritually mature.
We
should PRAY for spiritual growth. Such as patience:
Beware
-
The answer to your prayers may involve exposure to difficult challenges
that must be experienced in order to benefit & grow.
I
prayed for patience. I was given 4 grandchildren.
What
you suffer may be an answer to something you have prayed for.
Every
trial is an opportunity for growth
Being
brought in contact with certain people challenges us to grow.
Sometimes
this may involve brethren
who may be hard to get along with. Sometimes
we may become discouraged by our own brethren:
Why
don't they grow faster? Why aren't they here? Why don't they show
interest?
Example:
Paul & John Mark - An opportunity for growth in trial:
Acts
12:25 "And
Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had
fulfilled their ministry,
and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark."
Acts
13:5 "And
when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in
the synagogues of the Jews. They
also had John as their assistant."
Acts
13:13 "Now
when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to
Perga in Pamphylia;
and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem."
Acts
15:36-40 A
rift between Paul & Barnabas over John Mark.
Paul
& Mark had a difference in ZEAL.
2
Tim. 4:9-11 "Be
diligent to come to me quickly; (10) for Demas has forsaken me,
having loved this present world, and has departed from
Thessalonica - Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia.
(11) Only Luke is with me. Get
Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry."
When
we pray for spiritual growth - remember that God's way is perfect.
Psm.
138:7-8 "Though
I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will
stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and
Your right hand will save me. (8) The
Lord will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; Do
not forsake the works of your hands."
The
Lord is not done with any of us yet. He is still working on us.
Pray
that He will not give up on finishing us.
He
is the Potter - We are the clay. Good
clay is pliable and able to be molded into shape. Are you?
Isa.
64:8 "But
now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand."
Acts
8:36-37 "Now
as they went down the road, they came to some water. And
the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. What
hinders
me from being baptized?'
(37) Then Philip said, 'If you believe with all of your heart,
you may.' And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God.' (38) So he commanded the
chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch
went down into the water, and he baptized him."