One of our greatest spiritual ailments is that we get discouraged. We get sad, depressed, disheartened and despairing. Every Christian needs to know when they are discouraged, why they are discouraged, and how to get encouraged. They need to be like David who "Strengthened himself in the Lord." (1 Samuel 30:1-6).
And it's not food that will encourage you, or a vacation to get away from it all, or music to get your mind off your problems, or medicine that takes care of only your symptoms. The solution is the Holy Spirit, for the Spirit is your helper, the One who can encourage you. And the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of truth, and uses the truth of God to encourage you. A discouraged person is believing lies. An encouraged person is believing the truth, the Word of God.
One way we get discouraged is when we feel disconnected from God, that God has left us, that God is not working in our lives, that God does not love us. What is the answer? We need to pray, trust God, and sing to the Lord. (Psalm 13:1-2, 5-6). We need to believe that God is always with us, "even though I walk through the valley of death." We need to confess any sin so we can have fellowship with God. (1 John 1:5-9). We need to seek God, for "I love those who love me and those who diligently seek Me will find Me." (Proverbs 8:17) |
