Discouragement To Encouragement

I’ve had times of discouragement, and I’m sure you have as well. We’ve all been discouraged. Perhaps there were times when something we anticipated didn’t happen, or a particular job offer didn’t materialize, or we missed seeing someone special. Our lists could go on and on. We need not pull out our lists and dwell on the discouraging times. So, how can we change discouragement into encouragement?

You’re not alone in experiencing discouragement. Certainly, King David did on numerous occasions. He had to give himself a ‘talking to’ and not pull any punches. He says in Psalm 42:11, NLT, “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!” King David knew the secret to changing discouragement into encouragement. No matter what situation he faced, he was determined to put his hope in God. He was going to trust the Lord through the situation he experienced. He knew God would bring good out of what he faced, even if it was a tough time going through it. He knew God would fill him with more hope to push him forward. He determined to trust the Lord throughout his life. There were those times when he had to tell his heart (from where he believed) to not be discouraged or sad because what he was experiencing at that moment wasn’t the end of the story.

The more we focus on the discouragement, the more we feel depressed and sad. And if we keep up a diet of this type of thinking, we’ll only stay in the mulligrubs. And that isn’t the place for you child of God.

Don’t let your hope be stolen with discouragement in any area of your life. God will make a way for you. Jesus is your hope, and He can be trusted totally. He’s cheering you on and telling you to step away from discouragement and look to Him because He has better things ahead for you. That’s why you can walk in hope no matter what you face.