DISCOURAGEMENT IS SPOILED FRUIT
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“‘Be strong and courageous; do not
be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude
that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm
of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.’
And the people were strengthened by the
words of Hezekiah king of Judah.”—2 Chronicles 32:7-8
Because we consider certain emotions
and behaviors harmless, we do not pay much attention to them. In fact, we regard some attitudes as so “normal”
that we often assume everyone feels them from time-to-time. Yet, if we look beneath the surface, we will
discover hidden danger and realize the situation is different from the way it
appears. One good example is discouragement.
A lot of people think that discouragement
and disappointment is the same thing, but this is a mistaken belief. Disappointment is an emotional response to a
failed expectation, whereas discouragement
is the spoiled fruit that results from unresolved disappointment. For example, some men and women have told me
that they have experienced disappointing
relationships; therefore, marriage is spoiled
for them. I have heard some women say
that because childhood was so disappointing to them that they would never have
children.
Since we cannot experience perfect
success every single time we try something, there is no way to avoid all
disappointments in life. However, we can
avoid discouragement; it is a choice
that we make when we decide whether or not we will allow our times of disappointment
to destroy our confidence.
This is exactly what discouragement
is—a complete lack of confidence, a feeling of dismay, and a loss of motivation
regarding something that brings fulfillment and purpose. Let’s look at the word “discourage.” The prefix “dis” means “without.” So, to be dis-couraged is to be without any courage at all.
You can see how this is a big
problem for a Christian. The Bible calls
us to be strong and courageous, trusting Jesus Christ for what we need. At first, the Apostle Paul was not accepted by
the other Apostles; but, stayed strong and went on to write most of the New
Testament. Henry Ford, an American
businessman, is known today for his innovative assembly line and American made
cars, was not an instant success. In
fact, his early businesses failed and left him without any money five times,
before he founded the successful Ford Motor Company. It does not matter what country that you may
live in, there are people who have been disappointed over and over again, but
have not allowed their disappointment to rob them of courage and confidence.
In fact Apostle Paul wrote, “We are hard pressed on every side, yet not
crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken;
struck down, but not destroyed…And since we have the same spirit of faith,
according to what is written, ‘I believed and therefore I spoke,’ we also believe
and therefore speak” (2 Corinthians 4:8-13). We are a people of faith and courage for the
Lord is our Helper and therefore we speak!
Your faith expresses itself in your courageous actions as you take your
stand against the spoiled fruit of discouragement.
Prayer—Father
I thank You that I am a person of courage; therefore, today I speak to every “discouraging
word” and I tell it to go, in the Name of Jesus. Amen.
