Overcoming Discouragement
Have you ever woken up from sleep, and, out of nowhere, get slammed with a heavy dose of discouragement?
Absolutely nothing changed from the time you went to sleep to the time you opened your eyes and stepped out of bed. This tells me that discouragement can try to “get on you”.
Discouragement comes in the form of heaviness and can try to direct and dominate your whole day! But here’s the thing—you don’t have to let it!
Discouragement is one of the biggest tactics of the enemy. Out of nowhere, he will try to make you feel hopeless and negative. These thoughts take you out of a place of faith. Discouragement plays with your emotions to get you to feel tired and to feel like you should just quit. Often, the greatest attacks of discouragement will come right before or right after a huge breakthrough.
In 1 Kings 19, Elijah had just witnessed God do a miracle as he stood up to the prophets of Baal. Elijah had just done one of his most courageous acts, but we find him in a cave, hiding, afraid, and asking God to take his life. Yes, the greatest prophet at this point in time—right after his greatest breakthrough—was suicidal. He was so discouraged that he had forgotten about all of the miracles that had just happened!
Discouragement will do just that; draw your attention away from the good to get you to focus on what may happen or what’s not going good. When your enemy gets your focus on the wrong things, those things become your reality. But, I love what happens in the following verses. The Bible says, Elijah laid down under the tree and went to sleep. After resting a while, an angel nudged him, and told him to get up and eat something. Sometimes, we feel discouraged because we are run down physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Let’s look at three ways to overcome discouragement so it doesn’t ruin your day!
Get rest! Sometimes, the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap. When you are run down, your perspective is blurred. You feel tired, and you’re more apt to listen to the lies of the enemy or even easily swayed by your emotions. I’m usually the most emotional when I haven’t gotten enough sleep!
Get up! I love how the angel’s instruction to Elijah was get up and eat something! He didn’t want Elijah lingering in the place of self pity and fear. When you feel discouragement, the best thing to do is shake it off! Don’t linger in those thoughts. Shake it off, and move forward. Don’t play into discouragement’s hand. Declare God’s Word out of your mouth; put on praise music; push play to an audio sermon. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Turn discouragement off and turn faith on!
Give thanks! Gratitude, Gratitude, Gratitude! Nothing squelches discouragement like giving thanks! When you start to express thanksgiving from your mouth, it refocuses your mind on the good and flips the switch on the enemy!
So, you may get hit with a feeling of discouragement, but it doesn’t have to stay! God tells us to out on a garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness.
Attack back! Nothing agitates the enemy of your soul more than when you aren’t tripped up by his tactics!
Discouragement can’t stay in Jesus Name!
I pray you walk in peace and courage with an ever-increasing awareness of God’s power on display in your life! You’ve got this—and He’s got you!!