What to Do When You Get Discouraged
Philippians 4:4-7
Do you ever get down, depressed or discouraged? Being depressed or discouraged does not in itself make you a bad or a weak Christian. The great British Baptist preacher C.H. Spurgeon led scores to Christ through his powerful sermons. Yet he suffered numerous severe attacks of depression and discouragement where he would be unable to preach for weeks at a time. He often felt as if he had accomplished nothing in his life. He once lamented, “I have got the blackest heart in Britain.” Frequently he would go into his garden, raise his hands to God and cry, “Lord, I have never desired you more, yet my spirit has never been so low. Why is this happening?” When we do get discouraged we are tempted to quit, to throw in the proverbial towel, to give up. But the reality is that is exactly what the devil would have us do. When faced with discouragement or depression there are four steps we need to take when we get discouraged: pray, trust; commit and work.
I. Pray wholeheartedly to the Lord
A. When we are discouraged, many times we do not feel like praying. And when we do we pray foolishly charging God with being uncaring, aloof, or indifferent. But we need to still go to the throne of God and pour out our petition before Him.
B. Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
C. Dr. A. C. Dixon, a fundamental Baptist pastor, Bible expositor and evangelist who was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries speaking upon this theme of prayer. Said this: "When we rely upon organization, we get what organization can do, when we rely upon education, we get what education can do; when we reply upon eloquence, we get what eloquence can do; and so on. Nor am I disposed to undervalue any of these things in their proper place. "But," he added impressively, "when we rely upon prayer, we get what God can do."—The European Harvest Field.
D. Psalm 34:15 “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.”
E. We need to realize that in order for God to hear and answer our prayer we must confess any sin and seek His will and glory first above all else.
F. Psalm 27:14 “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”
G. Isaiah 40:31
H. Waiting on Him is to persistently come before Him and listen for His voice and meditating on His word, hear His commands, and learn His will.
I. 1 John 5:14 “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us.”
J. Why worry? – Illustration - David Jeremiah tells the story of a French soldier in World War I who carried into battle a prescription for worry: "Of two things, one is certain; either you are at the front, or you are behind the lines. If you are at the front, of two things one is certain; either you are exposed to danger, or you are in a safe place. If you are exposed to danger, of two things one is certain; either you are wounded, or you are not wounded. If you are wounded, of two things one is certain; either you recover, or you die. If you recover, there is no need to worry; if you die, you can't worry. – copied
K. Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” – Why worry when you can pray.
II. Trust fully in God’s Sovereignty
A. There is no attribute more comforting to His children than that of God’s sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials, they believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions; that sovereignty overrules them, and that sovereignty will sanctify them all. There is nothing for which the children ought to more earnestly contend to than the doctrine of their Master over all creation—the Kingship of God over all the works of His own hands—the Throne of God and His right to sit upon that throne...for it is God upon the Throne whom we trust. - C. H. Spurgeon
B. Romans 8:28 “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
C. Philippians 2:13 “it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
D. God lives and is in control! There’s no end to His power, His love for you, and His willingness to meet your every need. Not a sparrow falls without His notice. God will give you courage and strength for every battle! When you are you downhearted? Look away from circumstances and look to God.
E. Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
F. Disheartening circumstances may howl around us like a storm, but God has promised to protect us and look after results.- copied
G. Isaiah 43:1-3a “But now thus saith the LORD that created you, O Jacob, and he that formed you, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed you, I have called you by thy name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you: when you walk through the fire, you shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon you. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour…”
III. Commit yourself to the Lord and to the doing of His will
A. Psalms 37:5 “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.”
B. Luke 22:42 “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
C. A committed Christian desires God's way! Psalms 25:4 says, "Show me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths." We must give up seeking to follow our will and wants and be committed instead to fulfilling God's will for our lives.
D. Proverbs 16:3 “Commit your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established.”
E. When his wife Mary became terminally ill, the great preacher and prayer warrior George Mueller demonstrated what it means to be the committed and resigned to the will of God. John Piper describes in his biography of Mueller the key to George Mueller’s life and how he faced the pain of the loss of his wife. Permit me to read a brief excerpt:
We have the full text of the message at Mary's funeral and we have his own recollections of this loss. To feel the force of what he says, we have to know that they loved each other deeply and enjoyed each other in the work they shared.
‘Were we happy? Verily we were. With every year our happiness increased more and more. I never saw my beloved wife at any time, when I met her unexpectedly anywhere in Bristol, without being delighted so to do. I never met her even in the Orphan Houses, without my heart being delighted so to do. Day by day, as we met in our dressing room, at the Orphan Houses, to wash our hands before dinner and tea, I was delighted to meet her, and she was equally pleased to see me. Thousands of times I told her—“My darling, I never saw you at any time, since you became my wife, without my being delighted to see you.”
Then came the diagnosis: “When I heard what Mr. Pritchard's judgment was, viz., that the malady was rheumatic fever, I naturally expected the worst... My heart was nigh to be broken on account of the depth of my affection.” The one who had seen God answer 10,000 prayers for the support of the orphan, this time did not get what he asked. Or did he?
Twenty minutes after four,on the Lord's Day, February 6, 1870, Mary died. “I fell on my knees and thanked God for her release, and for having taken her to Himself, and asked the Lord to help and support us.” He recalled later how he strengthened himself during these hours. And here we see the key to his life.
‘The last portion of scripture which I read to my precious wife was this: “The Lord God is a sun and shield, the Lord will give grace and glory, no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Now, if we have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have received grace, we are partakers of grace, and to all such he will give glory also. I said to myself, with regard to the latter part, “no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly”—I am in myself a poor worthless sinner, but I have been saved by the blood of Christ; and I do not live in sin, I walk uprightly before God. Therefore, if it is really good for me, my darling wife will be raised up again; sick as she is. God will restore her again. But if she is not restored again, then it would not be a good thing for me. And so my heart was at rest. I was satisfied with God. And all this springs, as I have often said before, from taking God at his word, believing what he says.” - By John Piper. ©2013 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org
F. Believing that God’s will is best for us means that we trust God: believing that he is omniscient and that what commands us to do or what he sends our way is for our own good.
G. 1 Peter 4:19 (Paraphrased) “if you are suffering according to God’s will, keep on doing what is right, and commit your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.”
IV. Work tenaciously for Christ
A. Galatians 6:9 “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
B. When William Carey had succeeded in establishing his pioneer missionary work in India, his supporters in England sent him an assistant, a Mr. Ward, who was a printer by trade. Soon they were turning out printed portions of the Bible for distribution among the natives. Carey spent many years learning the language and wrote grammars and dictionaries for the use of his successors.
One day while Carey was away from his station, a disastrous fire broke out and completely destroyed the building, the presses, many printed Bibles and, worst of all, the manuscripts, grammars and dictionaries on which Carey had spent so much time.
When Mr. Carey returned, his servants told him of the loss. Without a word of despair or anger he knelt down and thanked God that he had the strength to do the work all over again. He started immediately, not wasting a moment in idle despair and before his death he duplicated his first achievements and produced far better work than he had done formerly.
Thousands, in this world, have lost all—including the very house over their head—and many who know the Lord have gone on, in faith, seeking to serve Him in and through it all. When sudden disaster and loss come to God's people, He again proves His all-sufficiency..—Christian Victory.
C. 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
D. The ancient Athenians had a race in which the runners carried lighted torches. The winners weren’t necessarily the fastest, but the ones who were crowned were those who arrived at the goal with their torches still burning they. May we so run as to reach the end with our torches still burning! The highest tribute, the highest reward, you can ever receive is to have it said of you, "He/she was a true, a consistent Christian all the way to the end."
E. Hebrews 10:34-35 “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
