Hope For The Discouraged!

When we are feeling discouraged, the last thing we want to do is read a long wordy devotional.  So I'll just leave this right here:

Charlie Brown Days

I don't know about you, but I can identify with Charlie Brown more times than not.  He tries so hard and still can't seem to do anything right.  Charlie Brown tries to be a good pitcher for his baseball team and gets nailed every time.  Charlie Brown tried to get a Christmas Tree for the play and was made to feel like a failure there as well.  He just keeps trying and keeps getting reminded that he's not measuring up.  

Every feel like that? I have.  There have been times when I was ready to give up and walk away.  It's not a good feeling!  It's a very hard uphill struggle to slap on a positive attitude and keep going. 

How do you deal with such times in life?  I can only tell you what has helped me.  

First, I remind myself that God made me on purpose for a purpose:
"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed."
(Psalm 139:13-16) 

Second, I get out my pen and paper and start writing.  I write my prayers because my mind is stuck in a spiral downward.  Through writing, I am able to get my thoughts out and eventually realize that whatever happens to me here is not the end of God's story for me.

Third, I try to get around positive people.  Not so they can cheer me up, but just being around positive people helps me realize that there really ARE people who aren't discouraging.

Fourth, and this is the MOST important part, I give the negative people over to God and let Him deal with them. Then I give God my negativity and let Him deal with me.

Sometimes I need to do this every single day until God moves and sometimes God moves right away.  It's not about my timing, rather it's God's story for me that He is bringing to pass in His time.

Discouraged

Why am I discouraged?
    Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
    I will praise him again—
    my Savior and my God!

Psalm 43:5 

 

In listening to the conversations over the weekend, I gathered that people seem to be getting discouraged because they feel helpless.  Feeling helpless is extremely discouraging, but are we truly helpless?  Remember, God has given us a spirit of POWER, and of LOVE, and of SELF-DISCIPLINE!

 

1.   In this world we WILL have troubles!  Jesus said that in John 16:33, and since we already know that we will have troubles we can prepare ourselves for them.  How?  Jesus went on to remind us that HE overcame the world (and ALL its troubles).

 

2.  We are also reminded that the fight is not ours: "This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s." 2 Chronicles 20:15.  The events we face may appear overwhelming and quite daunting, but God is the one who fights for us.  Ever know God to be defeated?  EVER?  

3.  It's easy to become fearful when we are faced with so much tragedy, but remember that God is WITH us! "Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."  Isaiah 41:10.

 

4.  Remember Peter's little stroll upon the water?  What happened when he took his focus off of Christ and became fearful of the turmoil around him?  That's right....he began to sink.  His solution?  He cried out to Christ to save him!  And Jesus did just that.  Perhaps it's time for us to stop focusing on all the turmoil and return to Christ!

 

Each morning, my prayer for all of our officers is that they are kept safe, that Christ will go with them and fight for them, and love them.

I Am WHAT?

Atelophobia - the fear of never being good enough

 

Believe it or not, Atelophobia is an epidemic!  I know this because this is one of the topic of quite a number of conversations I have with people.  Not to mention it's a condition I have struggled with for as long as I can remember.

 

For some reason, we many have been led to believe that they are not "good enough."  It might be that we have been told outright that we aren't good enough or it could be that we have simply been ignored, put down, discouraged by those we seek encouragement, or it could be due to our past or it might be that we are just different.  The truth of the matter is there are innumerable reasons for which we have been led to believe we aren't good enough...and the truth of the matter is that they are all LIES!

 

Let's talk a bit about the Truth:

 

You Are Good Enough For God To Call You BY NAME!                                    

 But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.

O Israel, the one who formed you says, 

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.

I have called you by name; you are mine." 

- Isaiah 43:1

 

Do you honestly think that God would bother to even know our names if we weren't good enough?  Do you think He would ransom you if He didn't think you were good enough?  The fact that, not only does God know our names, He calls us by name.  He calls us to talk with us!  Would He want to talk with someone who wasn't good enough?

 

You Are Good Enough For God To Have A Plan For Your Life!

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."  - Jeremiah 29:11

 

Why would the Creator of ALL even bother to create a plan for your life if you weren't good enough?  And think about this: God didn't just create a plan for us, but His plan is for good, a future, and hope!  Not only did God create a plan for your life, but He is going to make sure His plan is gets completed! "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." - Philippians 1:6  Does that sound like someone who thinks you are not good enough?

You Are Good Enough For God To Adopt You As HIS Child!

"But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God." - John 1:12

 

Now why would God want to adopt you if He didn't think you were deserving and good enough?  The fact of the matter is that God loves you so much that He has not only created you, breathed life into you, created a plan for you, won't stop until His plan for you is completed, and He has made a way for you to be adopted as His child!

 

Here's the point I want to make:  Atelophobia is nothing more than a load of manure the Pit Dweller is trying to sell us.  Sadly, many of us are buying what he is selling.  In THIS world, other humans might try to lead us to believe that we aren't good enough, but if you stop and think for a moment you will remember that God (the ONLY one who matters) not only thinks you are good enough, He celebrates by loving you enough to make you HIS child!

 

Think you don't deserve to be happy or to receive kindness or give of yourself to others?  Think again!  People will try to discourage us, sometimes to make themselves feel powerful, sometimes unintentionally, sometimes just because they want to.  But the opinion of another human being is worthless when God is the one who is making His plan for our lives complete.

 

Don't give in!  Don't give up!  Let God do His job and may He keep us out of His way!

 

I wish you a Happy, Blessed, and Memorable Christ Filled Christmas!  

           

Rely on the Reality!

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
    Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
    I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Isaiah 41:10 

 

Do you struggle?  Boy howdy, I do!  And honestly, have been (are) times when I don't even take the counsel I give others.  I tell others to "take care of yourself so you can take care of others" and then I add more things to my schedule and wonder why I have trouble sleeping, why I may come across as crabby, why I feel so stressed out/burned out/exhausted.  Hmmmm.....Isn't it odd that the same God who came right out and told us that "In this world you WILL have trouble" (John 16:33) is also the same God that tells us not to be afraid?

 

Recently, I realized that I had one of two choices:

1. I could keep going like a freight train and end up hating life....OR

2. I could return to the basics of faith and remember that God is ALWAYS with me no matter what!

 

When I have gotten discouraged, God has been there to remind me that I am His child.

When I have been afraid, God has been there to remind me that He takes care of His children.

When I have felt weak and helpless, God has been there to remind me that I need to rely on Him for strength, guidance, and wisdom.

 

God is God for a reason. And I am glad He is!

Tired of Being Weary

“Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
    as it burst from the womb,
and as I clothed it with clouds
    and wrapped it in thick darkness?
For I locked it behind barred gates,
    limiting its shores.
I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
    Here your proud waves must stop!’

Job 38:8-11 

Have you ever been so discouraged that you wondered what God was doing?  I have.  To be honest, when I get discouraged my porcupine personality makes its appearance.  I can be irritable and, if the reactions are to be believed, crabby.  I have spent many an hour talking with God about the reasons I have felt discouraged and burned out.  And, unlike those who have turned away from me, God has a wonderful sense of loving humor. This morning was one of those times where I felt like just another kick in the face.  Then when I pulled up the devotion for this morning, God reminded me of something:

I'm NOT God.....therefore, I'm not the one in control of everything or everyone.  As a matter of fact, I mess things up far more often than I get them right, so I need to let God do His job!  And guess what?  When I stop trying to do God's job, then I feel much more at ease with His plans.

God put EVERYTHING and EVERYONE where HE needs them for HIS purposes.  The only thing I need to do is keep the conversation open and be ready to step up and walk alongside someone who may be as discouraged and defeated as I have felt.  God comforts us so we can comfort others....how about that?

"And Then It Hit Me......And It Hit Me Again......"

Why am I discouraged?
    Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
    I will praise him again—
    my Savior and my God!

Psalm 43:5

When I was in elementary school, I was one of those kids who had trouble sitting still and keeping quiet.  On one of my "talking during quiet time" incidences, the class was supposed to be working on an writing an essay.  I was caught talking to the person in front of me who wouldn't respond to me.  Since I was the one talking, I was sent to stand in the hall as punishment.  As if that was not enough, while I was standing in the hallway, my Mom (who was a substitute teacher at my elementary school) came walking around the corner.

I learned something about the physical properties of the human body that day: Try though you might, you cannot make yourself invisible.  My Mom saw me in the hallway, and immediately wanted to know why.  Upon hearing my reply, I heard those dreaded words, "we'll discuss this further when your father gets home."  This was the moment where your mind plays that dramatic BOM Bom baaaaaa.  And your stomach lets you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you are in for a very bad day.

Ever had one of those days, weeks, months or even year when nothing seemed to go right?  Even feel like your life just keeps crashing down around you no matter how hard you try?

Ever feel like you're the punching bag for the heavyweight boxing champion to work his frustrations out on?

Me too.  And some days, it is physically painful to have to plaster on a smile and make everyone to believe you're okay.  Because, after all, being a believer means all our problems are solved and everything in our lives is just absolutely perfect.....right?

I wish I could tell you that being a Christian makes everything perfect.  But my experience has been quite the opposite.  In fact, there are points in my life where I am unsure why I'm still here.  But I can tell you this without hesitation: every single event that makes up my life has been for a reason.  The Master has taken this block of stone and has been chipping away in order to form me into who He has chosen me to be.  

Have I enjoyed it?  Hmmmmm.......NO!

Have I learned from it?  I've picked up bits and pieces here and there.

Have I ever been discouraged?  Uhhh.....YEAH!

But God has ALWAYS reminded me that He's got me, and THAT brings everything back into focus.