1 "And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;"
2 "And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way."
3 "So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives."
4 "Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep."
5 "And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal to Carmelite."
6 "And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God."
7 "And David said to Abithar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought tither the ephod to David."
8 "And David inquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all."
- Discouragement is a common response to challenges of life.
- Everyone gets discouraged at some point in their lives.
- Psalm 42:11 "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God."
- When we are discouraged, it shows on our face.
- The key is how we handle our discouragement.
- The key to overcoming discouragement is our God.
- When we encounter someone who is discouraged, we should not shoot them down, however we should:
- Encourage them
- Pray for them
- Go to the source of the help (God)
- When we get discouraged, we don't think clearly.
- Discouragement is like a cancer.
- One of the best way to get encouraged is to come into the house of the Lord.
- The definition of discourage is to deprive of:
- To discourage is also to:
- Dishearten
- Dispirit
- Object by opposition or difficulty
- Hinder someone
- Discouragement is:
- Universal
- Reoccurring
- Contagious
- Watch out for those who want to pull you down in negativity with them.
- Temporary
- It will pass if you respond correctly
- a feeling of despair or despondency
- A choice
- When we choose to remain dejected or we choose to remain determined to work through our feelings and overcome them.
- Its about our attitude
- Discouragement is caused by:
- Inability to please others
- We cannot please everyone
- Physical or verbal abuse
- Unanswered prayer
- God knows your heart
- God wants us to admit our insufficiencies
- God answers prayer. There are three answers he gives:
- Strongholds
- Discouragement can come from sin in our lives
- We can fall down from this. It is important that we get back up
- We can flee from the sin and go to God about it
- Health problems
- Unexplained adversity
- This is when we often ask 'Why me God?'
- Feelings of worthlessness
- The consequences of discouragement are:
- Divided attention
- You may not be able to work whole-heartedly
- Loss of focus
- Placing blame
- Be careful not to dwell on the wrongs of others
- Anger and depression
- Negative feelings will never be overcome unless you address the roots of discouragement
- Negative feelings can consume you
- Estrangement
- People can push others away by constantly grumbling
- Negative spirit
- Unwise decisions
- Don't make big decisions while going through discouragement
- Spiritual drift
- Depression is fertile ground for seeds of doubt
- The cure for discouragement is a relationship with our heavenly father.
- If we draw nigh unto God, he will draw nigh unto us
- We must look into ourselves and ask:
- 'Why am I discouraged?'
- 'What attitude adjustments do I need to make?'
- God has the ability to rescue you from harmful attitudes.
- Don't dwell on hurtful things in the past
- Think about God's faithfulness and how he's delivered you through the rough times
- Remind yourself of how God carried you through the rivers, waters, and fires of your life.
- Look ahead and focus on what the Lord is doing now in your life.
- Be encouraged by what he has planned for your future
- Have the right response to discouragement:
- Rest
- Physical exhaustion can often lead to discouragement
- Get both physical and emotional rest
- Reorganize your life
- Evaluate your use of time
- Psalm 103:19 "The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all."
- Hebrews 13:5 "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
- Resist discouragement
- Ask God to reveal the best response to the difficulty
- Ask 'What do I need to?' 'What attitude should I have?' 'What should I do?'
- If you are tired of being discouraged, you don't have to stay that way.
- Whether or not the situation changes, you can experience:
- Make sure you are doing the right things in the right way at the right time.
- Prioritize the things in your life
- Resolve to trust God
- The 'Joy robbers' are:
- For the believer, circumstances don’t have to dictate our emotions
- Allow scripture to permeate your mind and your heart
- Hide God's word in your heart
- You can have verses when discouragement comes to you
- God doesn't want us to be downtrodden and discouraged. He wants us to be encouraged.
- We need to have a great expectancy of what God will do.
- Discouragement will lose its foothold when you become joyous and fruitful again.