Are you feeling discouraged this Christmas season? Do you just feel runned down, out of gas, exhausted beyond all belief? Do you feel like your life, job, marriage, relationship, or family is all hopeless? It’s even rougher when Christmas is only two days away and the magic is just not there because your soul is in turmoil.

I understand. I am there. I am trying not to get discouraged, but so often I do. I feel like I keep fighting an uphill battle – literally. And this hill has been lasting for MONTHS! When will this hill end?! When am I going to see the other side of this battle?! 

It’s exhausting both mentally and spiritually. 

You’re not alone in this; many people are suffering right now and its stealing their joy.

You may remember that I have been listening to Chip Ingram’s Bible study entitled “Keep Pressing Ahead” and he talks about discouragement. I want to share what I learned from him because it’s powerful, Biblical, and God-given.

One thing Chip says is, “The most formidable enemy every Christ-follower faces in fulfilling God’s will for their lives is discouragement.” 

Am I a Christ-follower? Check. Am I trying to fulfill God’s will in my life? Check. Am I facing discouragement? Check. 

Sounds like we should expect discouragement, much like adversity (which you can read that here).

He goes on to list the four causes of discouragement and you may find yourself facing one or more of these causes.

1.      Loss of strength, which equals fatigue.

2.      Loss of vision or focus. This could mean focus on life, marriage, or any other obstacle.

3.      Loss of confidence and faith

4.      Loss of security, which is the same as facing fear

I feel like I’m dealing with a little bit of all four, with an emphasis of number 4. Whatever discouragement you are facing and whatever cause of loss you’re dealing with, there is hope. For Chip goes on about how to get out of discouragement (and I’m preaching to the choir (ahem, myself) right now, just so you know).

He entitles this as the “Four resources to overcome discouragement”.

1.      Be proactive and get moving! James 2:17, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Meaning: Remember who God is. 

One thing I have learned about David is when he wrote about the Psalm, he poured his heart out to God. He would cry out, “My enemies surround me! They are waiting to kill me! Save me, O God!” Then the next verse, David is PRAISING God and REMEMBERING who He is. Look at the Psalm for yourself if you’re doubting this. David will one moment have a pity party for himself, full of discouragement and doubt, and the next, he’s singing praises to God and praising His name.

I believe this is what Chip is talking about. When we get discouraged, we need to be proactive about remembering who God is. We need to remember what He has done for us. Recall a time that God saved you from a tragic accident or gave you a special moment that will last forever with your spouse or any other family member. 

Those are the moments to remember because it’s important to remember God’s faithfulness towards us. I am the worst at remembering what God has done for me in the past because I get so wrapped up in the present and future that I can’t focus on what God has done. Don’t be like me; be proactive because your faith is still working even when it’s discouraged.

2.      Remember WHO is for me! “For with God nothing will be impossible” - Luke 1:37. 

If you and I are God’s children, then NOTHING is impossible for our God! I was reading the Bible the other day and I came across Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” He IS able to do EXCEEDINGLY and ABUNDANTLY above anything we can think or ask! He created the entire universe! If you need to be reminded about how great and mighty our God is, then watch’s Louie Giglio’s “How Great Is Our God” video here.

Getting back on subject, God is for us, then who can be against us (Romans 8:31)?! Do not cave! Continue to fight! Stay strong in God’s Word and remember Who fights before us! 

3.      FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! 2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

When we fight the good fight, when we are discouraged but still choose to be proactive in our faith and remember Who is on our side, then that earn us kudo points in heaven! One day, we will go to our retirement home and Jesus says, “You have fought the good fight. Now come and enjoy My presence!” We want that, don’t we? We want Jesus to be proud of us when He knows the struggle we went through!

In Romans 12:1, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” This reminds me that people are watching us Christians. But the glory of it all is that one day when someone we know who doesn’t believe falls into discouragement, and during our time of discouragement, if we chose to fight discouragement with the Word of God and through faith, they will remember how we dealt with our discouragement and may come and ask how we survive our hell. That is when we can share our faith and Jesus to them.

4.      Never fight alone! Get connected! Hebrews 3:13, “ but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”

I believe this is a very important concept. We were not meant to fight ALONE. We were meant to be a community. Tenth Avenue North puts this concept in such a awesome way with their song, “No Man is an Island”, which you can watch here.

When we are going through discouragement, we need to have someone who is in the Word daily and someone who we trust to give us encouragement that comes straight from the mouth of God. I have two mentors who I can turn to and trust. I know when I go to them, they are not going to preach the world to me, they are going to preach the Word of God to me. I know I am growing thanks to them. They have done a world of good for me because I feel like I would truly be lost without their wisdom, help, and guidance.

I IMPLORE you to find a mentor or someone you can go to and talk about your discouragement. This person should lead you back to the Word of God and tell you what God says. This is the community and the exhortation that God is talking about in His Word and in the song by Tenth Avenue North.

Before I leave you, here is one quote from Jeremy Kingsley in his book, “Getting Back Up When Life Knocks You Down”, that will help us gain perspective about discouragement:

“In a mysterious way, our troubles allow us to discover and develop reservoirs of strength and preference that most of us don’t realize we have. When we lean on the Lord, He actually uses our struggles to expand our ability to deal with them. It’s a process that leads us to greater hope and a deeper faith.”

Please, go back through the resources to overcome discouragement. God’s Word is there to help us remember who He is and how much He loves and cares for us. And He will send you a person to love you and encourage you when the discouragement comes rushing in. And above all, our Lord Jesus is using our struggle to expand our hope and faith in Him.

You’re not alone. The God of the universe is right there with you. He loves you deeply and He wants you to lean on Him. What a great God we serve! 

May your day be brighter and more filled as you continue to walk in faith and hope.

Ps: If you would like to listen to this sermon, click here and scroll down to “Facing DiscouragementPart 1 and 2”. (Note: It was on the second page at this time)