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And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba,
which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel
touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have
forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. - 1 Kings 19:1-10

INTRODUCTION

  • The word “discouragement”comes from the root word courage.
  • The Greek word translated “courage” means to have “boldness” and “confidence.”
  • God doesn’t simply command us to be courageous with no reason behind it.
  • In nearly every incident where God tells us to “fear not,” there follows a reason to have courage, and that reason
    is God Himself.
  • When God calms Abram’s fears after his battle with the kings of Sodom, God says, “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1).
  • When Hagar was despairing for her life and that of her child in the wilderness, the angel of the Lord tells her, “Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is” (Genesis 21:17).
  • God’s promise to the Israelites in Isaiah 41:14 is similar: “Fear not, ... I will help thee, saith the Lord.”
  • In each incident, we see God commanding courage, not because it is natural for man to be brave and courageous, but because, when God is protecting and guiding us, we can have courage because we are
    confident in Him.
  • The prefix dis- means “the opposite of.” So, discouragement is the opposite of courage.
  • Discouragement is defined as a “feeling of having lost hope or confidence”.
  • When we are discouraged, we have lost the motivation to press forward. The mountain seems too
    steep, the valley too dark, or the battle too fierce, and we lose the courage to continue.”
  • At some point in life, everyone will face discouragement.
  • In the New Testament, discouragement was translated as “to faint or grow weary.”
  • The Apostle Paul commanded the brethren in Galatian saying, “And let us not be weary in well doing
    for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” – Gal. 6:9.
  • Paul spoke of some of the challenges they had and how they dealt with it to avoid becoming discouraged:

“Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:1;8-9; 16-18).

5 CAUSES OF DISCOURAGEMENT

  1. FEAR
    • The expectation and apprehension of impending danger; dread or anxiety.
    • Fear produces WEAKNESS
      • Zephaniah 3:16, “In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak.” (NKJV)
    • Fear paralyses us into INACTIVITY
      • Job 32:6, “So Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said: “I am young in years, and you are very old; Therefore I was afraid, And dared not declare my opinion to you.” (NKJV)
  2. FATIGUE
    • Nehemiah 4:10, “And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.”
    • Fatigue is commonly called Burn-out
    • We become fatigued when our task is greater than our resources.
    • Fatigue affects us physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
    • It occurs when we have depleted our strengths and have no reservoirs from which to draw more strength.
  3. FRUSTRATION
    • Ezra 4:4-5, “Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, (Rebuilding Temple of the Lord) And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.”
    • Frustration is that feeling of impatience and anxiety that we get when we think our needs are not
      being met or when we deal with seemingly insurmountable problems.
    • Frustration leads to the loss of morale. Morale is the capacity of a group's members to maintain belief in an institution or goal, particularly in the face of opposition or hardship.
    • FRUSTRATED?
      • When you are frustrated how do you relate to those closest to you?
      • Do you find that you have had to take precaution not to say or do something that might be offensive?
      • Do you find that you get easily upset with people, even those who have nothing to do with the reason why you are frustrated?

      • Frustration leads to BURN-OUT.

      • Hebrews 12:1-3 (MSG) - “Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in.”

      • “Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility
        he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”
      • Frustration leads RASH ACTIONS.
      • Acts 19:35-36, “And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter? Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.”
  4. FORSAKEN
    • Forsaken - to be deserted or abandoned
    • JESUS ON THE CROSS - St. Matthew 27:46, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
    • JOSEPH IN PRISON - Genesis 40:14-15, “But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.”
  5. FAILURES
    • 1 Samuel 26:16, “You’re a complete failure! I swear by the living Lord that you and your men deserve to die for not protecting the Lord’s chosen king. Look and see if you can find the king’s spear and the water jar that were near his head.”
    • Failure doesn’t have to be FINAL!
    • FAILURES IN THE BIBLE
      • Simon Peter—denied Jesus Christ.
      • Abraham—lied regarding his wife.
      • David—committed adultery and murder!
      • Samson—loved Delilah.

FAILURE IS A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

Pele made less than 3% of the shots he took. Does this make Pele a FAILURE?

PURPOSE OF THE DISCOURAGEMENT TEST

To teach us that true joy can only be found in the presence of the Lord.

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” – Psalm 16:11.

To teach us that we are not self-sufficient. We need God and people.

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” – St. John 15:5

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” - Eph 4:11-12

To allow others to minister to us. “Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a
certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus'
feet, and heard his word. ” – St. Luke 10:38-39.

"But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” – St. Luke 10:40-42.

To teach us to wait on the Lord.

“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” – Isaiah 40:28-31.

The Hebrew word for wait is qavah and it means to wait “actively with anticipation, hopefully watching for God to act”

DEALING WITH DISCOURAGEMENT

Encourage yourself in the Lord.

“And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. And David enquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.” – 1 Samuel 30:6-8

Read the Bible Promises of God

“The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” – Psalm 34:17-19

“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved” – Psalm 55:22.

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” – Isaiah 41:10

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” – Jeremiah 29:11

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called  according to his purpose” – Romans 8:28.

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” – Philippians 4:19.

Listen for the Voice of God

“And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in
the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I,
even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” – 1 Kings 19:12-18

Make Church Attendance a Priority

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” – Hebrews 10:25

“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” – Pro. 27:17

“And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” - Ecc. 4:12

Never forget the Power of Prayer

“For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.” – Nehemiah 6:9

Talking to God in Prayer

  • Assures you that God is STILL IN CHARGE
  • Assures you that God knows more about the situation that you do
  • Assures you that God will bring about the end He has purposed.
  • Assures you that the kingdom is bigger than you are
  • Assures you that the kingdom will go on even after you are gone from the scene.
  • Assure you that even in your discouragement, God has not forgotten you
  • Assure you that even in your discouragement, you have a ministry to fulfill.

CONCLUSION

All of us will face discouragement. It is how we deal with discouragement that determines our successes and failures.

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