By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills
A recent podcast/sermon by a renowned pastor hit me right where I needed—the heart. I hear what you’re saying: all sermons are supposed to affect the heart. But this one addressed my current situation.
I’d been experiencing discouragement, and the biggest problem is my perfectionism. God touched me, filling me with His hope and a reminder that He will never leave or forsake us. Our identity in Christ is not based on what we do or how much we have or who we know. Our identity is based on His unconditional love. That perfect love and wisdom, my friend, overcome the beast of discouragement.
The pastor had solid points, and I’ll paraphrase them below. I chose to apply them to my life, and I encourage you to do the same.
Three ways to defeat discouragement:
1. Don’t feed it. Otherwise, that keeps the beast alive and prowling after us. Instead, starve the monster.
2. Don’t practice it. Bad habits are hard to break. When we repeat the lies and play the self-destruction audios, we learn to believe the worst about ourselves.
3. Don’t scatter it. Be selective in sharing your problem. When we share our woes with everyone, we soon become known as needy and pathetic.
Three ways to overcome discouragement:
1. Refocus on God’s purpose for our lives. Pray and study what the Bible says about who we are in His eyes. He loves us so much that He carries pictures of us in His wallet!
2. Retell our story in a way that displays God’s glory. Give attention to our salvation and what He has done for us.
3. Rejoice when we face trials and challenges. All things for the believer lead to spiritual growth and God’s glory. Learn to laugh at the world and look for God’s hand in all our experiences. We are Gods handiwork.
These simple truths have helped me smile and continue in the ministry that God has given me. Take a moment to reflect on your life. What has God done for you? Be thankful!
Comments 37
The three points on defeating discouragement are spot on. Doing otherwise only grows the discouragement and then we feel we cannot overcome it. May we defeat it as we stay in God’s Word, allowing Him to fill us with hope day by day. Blessings!
Thank you, Joanne. All in Jesus’ name! Amen
Thanks for the encouragement, DiAnn! The Lord has brought me to a place where I have no choice but to trust Him and entrust Him with every detail of my life…including my life itself. Every door He has opened as a potential “solution” this past year has come to nothing. And I just learned this morning that the last door has shut as well. Talk about discouragement… Some might question God’s hand in this journey, but I have recognized this as my Elijah moment: God did send the wind, but He wasn’t in it; God did send the fire and earthquake too, but He wasn’t in them either. He is in the still, small voice–the place of intimacy where it’s just Him and me. So, we continue to testify to all He has been for us, and He never falters in His Faithfulness.
Diana, I’m so sorry for the discouragement, but you are praising God in the storm. I’m praying for you!
Your email on discouragement I believe has come into the lives of some many people. You are correct in saying to not focus on our problems but to focus on Christ and all that He has done for us. I lost my health over 30 years ago and I must say whether it be enormous debt from medical bills, illness after illness I thank God for all of the trails, tribulations and valleys it has given me to have a close intimate relationship with Christ I would probably never had developed without these valleys. Yes, I have fought discouragement but I try very hard to count my blessings and to persevere in trusting God, staying in his word and prayer. These are items I think will help each of us regardless of what we face each new day. I woke up this morning as we all did by God’s grace and I can walk, talk, see and hear and so many thousands of others cannot. I know things could be worse. Yes, also reading many books by great Christian authors has helped my discouragement. I am greatly blessed. Praying for you and all who are fighting this problem.
Mary, your praise-filled words have made my day. God gives us a temporary life to trust Him, so He can give us eternal life with Him.
❤️
Thanks, Julie, we have sister-hearts.
Thank you for your honesty, DiAnn. It comes as a surprise that you would ever be discouraged because of all your accomplishments, but my lowly point of view makes everyone else look like their lives are perfect while mine is not. I realize how wrong that perspective is, something our enemy wants us to believe. Thank you for these tips. I love the analogy of God keeping pictures of us in his wallet. I recently had an “epiphany” about my writing. I’m in our church choir, and I’m not the best singer, but my voice contributes to the whole and together, we make beautiful music. My writing can be viewed the same way in that my books might not be NY Times bestsellers, but they’re part of Christian publishing, part of a larger mission to tell God’s truth in our books. Like my part in the choir, I can work on making my part better, knowing my part contributes to the whole, which is what God wants me to do.
Marilyn, we’re all on equal ground when it comes to Satan tossing stones at our confidence. But we stand on the rock of Jesus, and He chase away the discouragement. I’m not sure where I heard that God keeps a pic of us in His wallet, but I love it! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Amen. Very timely for me as you may recall. I will reread this often as I move through the consuming monster I am dealing with this month that is zapping my time and energy for writing. It will also be good to take a deep breath of these points when I resurface and start writing again.
Karen, there will alway be something against us, something to make us feel discouraged. Remember our rock!
Thank you for the timely post, DiAnn! I’ve been struggling with discouragement for the past 5-6 weeks. I’ll take your advice to heart, print it out, and keep it nearby.
Betty, I’m so sorry for your discouragement. Reach out to me when life hits hard.
Thank you.
What a great reminder of God’s love for us and to remember who Christ says we are, not the discouragement or the circumstances we are in. I loved the don’t feed the beast! Or that’s what I read. HAHA. I also loved the ‘don’t scatter it’. So often we can share our woes too many times and become the needy person that no one really wants to be. Or at least I definitely don’t want to be thought of that way.
Thanks, Kelli, it is far too easy to feed the beast – so let’s start that nasty thing.
So timely!! It’s been a rough couple of months. Great points!
Thanks, Gayle, I pray life gets easier with more encouragement than discouragement.
Wow, great ENCOURAGEMENT in the face of DISCOURAGEMENT! Yes, perfectionism is a trigger for getting discouraged. Love your methods of fighting it, defeating it, overcoming it…especially that God carries pictures of us around with Him! Blessings today….
Nancy, I love that image too. Makes all of us feel special – ’cause we are.
Amen. All great points. “Don’t feed the frustration and discouragement.” I’ll remember that one. It seems the more we dwell on something, the larger it becomes. I like “Don’t scatter it” also. We do love to lament to others (especially our loved ones) when we’re discouraged. Often times, all that does is invite them to join your “pity party.” Thanks for sharing Ms. DiAnn.
Thanks, J.D., I’m one who feeds off the discouragement, so I have to watch myself! Thanks for your comments.
Everything I have and am is from God. He blessed me with such loving parents; he has given me a son and granddaughter. I have a roof over my head and food in my cupboard. I am so thankful and grateful for his faithfulness.
Thank you, Susan, God has blessed us with incredible gifts.
Great article DiAnn. Our Accuser wants to take our eyes off Christ and put them on the problems and obstacles in our lives, and it’s a very easy thing to do if we aren’t diligent. All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord.
Thanks, David, and I appreciate the right spin on Romans 8:28.
Thanks so much for sharing these points. I needed this today.
Barbara, you are so welcome! I need the reminders – often.
Wise counsel, DiAnn. I’ll take it to heart. Blessings!
Thank you, Martha, now if we can all follow God’s leading imagine our happiness.
Wonderful advice, as always.
Thank you, Kristine. Glad to pass on the advice.
Thanks for the advice. Many who I chat at Groundwire are discouraged. I will give the advice in your blog.
Thanks, Danny. It’s easy to get discouraged in a world overun with sin.
Thank you, DiAnn. I struggle with this quite frequently, having grown up with a mom whose love was sometimes conditional and a dad who was a big-time worrier. My life has been full of dashed hopes and constant struggle. I appreciate this simple advice, and I will apply it going forward.
Toni, I understand your struggle. My mom shared both those traits. Praying for you!