Encouragement

When I am discouraged, obedience is difficult

INTRODUCTION. Another post (see #530 on May 13, 2022) on the subject of discouragement and how the believer can and should fight to be free of this condition.

I have posted two articles recently on this idea of fighting discouragement. My purpose has been to help believers see that, of all people, we have the most reasons to be encouraged, and that discouragement should be a place where we spend very little time.

The first article (post #528 on May 11, 2022) was on changing our mental diet. The idea is that the main contributor to being a discouraged Christian is not being careful about your mental diet. Therefore, starve your mind of dwelling on discouraging thoughts. Do not allow your mind to eat any mental food that discourages, but rather train your mind to remain fixed on God’s goodness, on the blessings He has bestowed on you and promised you, and spend large amounts of time in God’s Word, the Bible.

The second article (post #530 on May 13) was about how many of the ideas that would lead to discouragement for the unbeliever should not affect the believer because of the promises given to the believer in the Bible.

In this article, my main idea will be to show that it is difficult for the discouraged Christian to be an obedient Christian. Now, this may sound strange at first. How would discouragement make me less obedient as a believer? What is the connection between obedience and encouragement? Well, consider the following situations.

  • The Scripture commands us in many places to be thankful and the believer has uncountable reasons to thank God no matter what the circumstances, but when you are discouraged, how can you be thankful to God? Are you going to thank God for the things that discourage you? No, you are not. So, the discouraged person is not a thankful person. But the believer knows that not being thankful is a sin. It is disobedient to not be thankful. The fact is that discouragement hinders or stops thankfulness, so discouragement must go! So, when you are discouraged, even for a moment, begin thanking God for all His goodness and provision to you. Soon you will not be discouraged!
  • Jesus Himself gives His disciples a “new commandment” in John 13:34, that we are to love one another. This is a direct command from the Lord Jesus. The believer is to focus on loving others and not focus on himself. But when a person is discouraged, they are usually focusing on self, not on others. Being self-centered and selfish is a sin (Phil. 2:3-4).  Instead of being focused on self and feeling sorry for yourself, immediately begin praying for someone you know and consider how you can do a better job of giving yourself away for others (2 Cor. 12:15).
  • The Bible gives us many commands to rejoice, but how can you obey those commands when you are discouraged? Rejoice always. (1 Thess. 5:16). Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord (Phil. 3:1). Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I will say rejoice (Phil. 4:4). It is difficult to obey the command to rejoice if your heart is heavy and you are discouraged. On the other hand, it is hard to be discouraged if you are rejoicing in the Lord! Will you be obedient and rejoice, or will you be discouraged and disobedient? Sing! Rejoice! Praise the Lord!
  • The obedient believer is content in all circumstances (Phil. 4:12), and the believer’s contentment testifies to God’s generosity toward His children. But when the believer is discouraged, it is very easy also to be discontent. Your discouragement will poison your contentment and will often lead to grumbling about what God has not provided or to coveting what others have and you want. Discouragement endangers your contentment. So, deliver yourself from your discouraging thoughts and you will see contentment return. The Lord provides!
  • We have been “created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph. 2:10). We are to be a “people for Christ’s own possession, zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:14). The believer is “to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed” (Titus 3:1), and “to be careful to engage in good deeds” (Titus 3:8). Every believer has been created in Christ Jesus (born again, saved, converted, redeemed, etc.) to be a witness for Christ (Acts 1:8) and to accomplish the work God has given us to do (John 17:4). But when we are discouraged, we are not available for good works. The discouraged believer lacks the joy or the energy to accomplish the work they have been given to do. The discouraged believer is not a zealous believer. So, to engage in good deeds the believer must shed the clothes of discouragement and be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18) and press toward the goal (Phil. 3:14).
  • The believer is to let their light shine before men so that God is glorified (Matthew 5:16), but the discouraged believer has a dim, flickering light that does not shine before men. The encouraged believer shines forth a bold, pure light which attracts people to the light and hopefully to the Light of the world, but the discouraged believer’s light is not attractive. People are attracted by vigor and joy and life and light, and so the encouraged believer gives them a reason to draw near. On the other hand, the discouraged believer seems to feel the same heaviness the rest of the world feels, and so the world passes by. The obedient believer will let their light shine, and that means discouragement must go.
  • The believer is to “proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Although this verse is worded as a declarative statement (i.e., a fact, not a command), it is certainly intended to be an expectation for all believers, and thus has the force of a command. The obedient believer is to proclaim God’s excellencies. But once again, we find that the discouraged believer has no voice for proclaiming the gospel and has no courage for telling of God’s excellencies. Thus, the discouraged believer is not able to obey the Lord’s command, and the primary reason they cannot obey is that they remain in a state of discouragement. Christian! Get rid of discouragement! Sing praises to the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord. Rejoice!

In conclusion, then, I offer these thoughts to encourage the discouraged to shake free of those thoughts and habits that are robbing you of the joy and vigor of the vibrant life in Christ. Change your diet to feast on the riches of Christ and the encouragement that every believer has in Him (Phil. 2:1). Give thanks! Rejoice! Proclaim! Give yourself away to others!

SDG                 rmb                 5/17/2022                   #531

Let me introduce you to my Big Brother

It does not happen often, but there are times when I feel so discouraged, when I am just feeling low and down on myself. There are times when I feel so inadequate and so incompetent and so very imperfect. I ask myself, “How can the Lord use me at all?” But it turns out that, because of the fall, we are all imperfect and weak and prone to error and failure. It is at times like these that I need to stop thinking like one who is all alone in the world and like one who does not have the Lord on his side. I need to stop thinking like a sheep without a shepherd. The LORD is my shepherd! (Psalm 23:1) The Lord is with me like a dread Champion. (Jeremiah 20:11)

When Satan tells me that I am a failure and will be a failure and he reminds me of all the mistakes that I have made and tells me of all the times that I have failed and then tells me that I am therefore a failure, I will refer him to my Big Brother, Jesus. “You, Satan, are the father of lies. You are the accuser of the brethren. You are the one who hates me and who seeks to kill and to steal and to destroy. You intend nothing but my destruction and plan for nothing but my failure. But let me introduce you to my Big Brother, Jesus. I think you may have met Him before. Do you remember? He was the One who kicked you out of heaven and determined that you would crawl on the earth like a serpent. He was the One who defeated you in the wilderness and resisted every one of your temptations. You will remember that He is the One who drove the cross through your skull on Calvary’s hill and He is the One who said, ‘It is finished,’ from the cross. He is the One who has delivered me from the domain of darkness. He is the One who has destroyed your works. He is the One who has conquered death and who promises that I will never be condemned. He is the One who is at my side and has promised to never leave me or forsake me. Nothing shall be able to take me out of His hand and nothing can separate me from His love for me. He is the One who is in heaven interceding for me. He is the One who is with me like a dread champion. He is my refuge and my Rock and my Redeemer. He is the One who will come from heaven with a shout and with the voice of the archangel to receive me into heaven and to give me a glorified body. And He is the One who will throw you into the lake of fire to be tormented forever. Don’t you remember Him? I think you do. He is my Big Brother. He is my Savior. He is the One who will defend me from those too strong for me.

“So if you have something to say to me, Satan, and you have some accusation to bring against me; if there is some discouragement that you want to bring against me or if you want to remind me of some failure and if you want to tell me that I am a failure, you will need to speak to my Big Brother first and see what He has to say about it. The reality is that apart from Jesus, I am nothing, but because Jesus Christ is my King and because He died for me and because He is for me and because nothing can separate me from His love, I am destined for glory and my life is useful to the Master. I have been given a white robe and a ring. I have been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ so that I am whiter than snow. My frail efforts, when offered in the name of Jesus, are powerful for the destruction of all your fortresses. You, Satan, say that I am a failure, but Jesus Christ says I belong to Him, that he has bought me with the price of His own blood and that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. You, Satan, say that I will fail and that the future is bleak, but because you are the father of lies, I know that is a lie and that my future is, in fact, bright and that God will use me and that nothing can stand against God’s purposes to bring about His glory through my feeble efforts. So, tell your lies to my Advocate and to my Intercessor and to my Redeemer and see what He has to say about them.”

When I remember to refer Satan to my Big Brother, the Lord Jesus Christ, then his vain threats vanish like so many puffs of smoke and He is revealed to be a toothless lion and a fangless viper. I am reminded that Satan is a mere fallen angel, but the One I worship, my rock, my shield, and my defender, Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, King of kings and Lord of lords.

So, next time Satan attempts to harass you with his taunts and temptations, introduce him again to your Big Brother, and press on toward the goal for the prize.

[Some of the Scripture references: Isaiah 64:4; Hebrews 11:6 (“God rewards (‘is a rewarder of’) those who diligently seek Him” – Believe this promise, that God rewards not on the basis of height or looks or wealth or strength or even ability (remember the parable of the talents in Matthew 25) or age, but God rewards on the basis of faith and according to His faithfulness – Hallelujah!); Romans 8:31-39; John 19:30; 2 Cor. 5:21]

SDG                 rmb                 5/3/2022                     #525