Defeating Discouragement

Happy Sabbath, everyone! It's good to see you today. Hope you're doing very well and having an enjoyable Sabbath. Certainly appreciated the music. Thank you, Tim and Chad. What a great reminder. Strong, powerful reminder of God's presence with us no matter what. And so, what a wonderful reminder of that very thing. Kind of a Passover, Unleavened Bread kind of a theme. Reminds us to keep marching forward. Really appreciate that. So thank you very much.

A while back, I was counseling a young lady toward baptism, and this was in another area, just so you know. And it was kind of an interesting circumstance as we were talking about different things. And she had quite a few difficulties going on in her life. Came to a Sabbath service where the brethren were there. Really, it turned out to be a wonderful day. Following counseling session as we were talking, she said to me, you know, I just can't be that happy.

Kind of reflecting on kind of the atmosphere at services and, you know, the demeanor of the brethren, which was a wonderful experience. But she was facing some difficult things.

And so she assumed, because we were up and happy and excited on the Sabbath, that we didn't have any problems. We didn't have any issues. And everything was just fine. So we talked about that quite a bit. And I think she came to realize all of us have challenges. It seems that there's seasons of life that just the weight of the world seems to be on your shoulders.

Sometimes it might be failures, things that I just didn't meet, expectations. It might be others. Others just don't seem to be treating me right. Sometimes, wow, it's my children. They just don't seem to get it. And I don't know, I must be a terrible parent. It might be a health issue. I'm facing a health challenge. And I just feel the weight of discouragement because of these things. Or it could be, they let me down. They were supposed to be a help. And I put my trust in them, and they didn't follow through. And so it seems at times discouragement can just be a dark cloud that hangs over you. And we might feel, well, maybe it's me. Maybe I've failed. Maybe it's my fears or my insecurities and doubts. Now those can be pretty difficult things to try to overcome. Sometimes it just makes you feel paralyzed. I just can't move because just a sheer volume of problems that I'm struggling with and dealing with. And you know, I'm not sure I'm really strong enough to handle the challenges that life throws my way. Well, discouragement can certainly be a passing kind of a feeling. But you know, there's times that it's just an emotional weight that affects our sense of purpose. It affects our sense of joy. It affects our sense of hope.

And it just is such an overcoming pall that just seems to be like a cloud that hangs over us.

Now, life's problems? Yeah, they can sometimes be insurminable. It seems that way. And it may feel as though I'm not going to get out from under this weight. It's going to drag me down.

But in the midst of discouragement, God offers hope. God offers guidance. God offers strength.

And what's amazing is His Word, the Bible, Holy Scripture, doesn't just kind of gloss over things.

It doesn't just say, well, try to feel better and it'll be okay.

Scripture doesn't do that. God's Word understands our human struggles. God Himself speaks directly to these kinds of issues, not just to comfort us, because that's a good thing, no doubt.

But God gives us practical wisdom on how we can begin to deal with the difficulties.

So let's take a moment to consider that nature of the weight, feeling overwhelmed, and recognize God gives us practical guidance so that we can defeat discouragement.

As you begin to think about this subject, do we see it in our lives? Do you recognize it? Is it something that becomes very obvious? Or maybe I can't quite put my finger on what's wrong? What's wrong with me? Why am I feeling this way? What is this all about?

I mean, no doubt you could just feel bad. I can feel down about things. That can be a part of discouragement. But oftentimes there's a huge emotional component that comes into play as well. And you put that combination of things together and you can kind of feel disillusioned. You can feel a little bit out of control. You feel like, well, I'm powerless to deal with these things.

Now, certain things are difficult to deal with, and there's no doubt that some things are not just discouragement. It's not just being down. There are clinical aspects to depression. And I'm not talking about clinical depression today. I'm not talking about, you know, some of the medical issues that may come up, like both bipolar or schizophrenia or things like that. We have the light of hope helpline here at the United Church of God that can help you deal with those things, give you resources to help deal with those serious clinical types of things. So I'm not talking about that today. But I'm talking about the kind of discouragement and downheartedness we all face.

Every human being has times in life that we face these kinds of things. And it's interesting. There's a word that's used throughout the New Testament that reflects that idea. It's not normally translated discouragement or discouraging or anything like that. This particular Greek word is usually translated weary or sometimes faint-hearted. And I think that kind of speaks to all of us, that sometimes there is just this weariness. Do I have what it takes to go on? We might just be physically exhausted, just worn out, a weariness. And sometimes that's tied to an emotional exhaustion. And we're so worn down that we just may wonder, how am I going to go forward?

How am I going to stand strong as we heard in the special music? Because it seems that those waves of discouragement can come. It might be when you're sitting down to do your budget. It's like, oh, how am I going to financially work through this? This is almost unbelievable, the bills that I have. Or it may just be, I've got some relationship problems. We're just not seeing eye to eye. We're not getting along. I've got those personal issues that I face. And when I go to work, there's issues at work. And I can't seem to escape it. And there's personal difficulties. Or I simply turn on the news and look what's going on in the world.

That is so depressing and discouraging. Did you see these fires and all the terrible situations people are going through? And I'm powerless to do anything about it. And how does it leave you feel? It's almost like I'm under the water and I can't get to the top. I'm just drowning in this sea of troubles. And when you feel like that, what do you tend to focus on?

Well, if you're like me, sometimes I think about my own limitations. That, yeah, and when I think of that, does that help? That just makes it worse because I can't do anything about it. And yet there are so many examples in God's Word that identify with that very feeling. Do you know the Apostle Paul felt that way? He felt just like you and I.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 1, we could begin there looking at a passage that shows the challenges that we face and really sometimes that perspective that this is too much.

What am I going to do about this? And here Paul describes a circumstance that he felt just utterly overwhelmed. It's near the beginning of 2 Corinthians, so his second epistle to those at Corinth. In chapter 1, notice what he writes in verse 8. He's describing his journeys. He's describing the challenges as he preached the gospel in the Roman world. And sometimes we tend to think and glamorize that. Wow, it must have been amazing traveling around, seeing all of God's people, people coming to conversion and baptism and think of all these wonderful things. Well, here's the reality at times. He says in verse 8, we don't want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.

Now sometimes you may read that and you might think, well, was somebody threatening his life? Did somebody want him dead? It could be. It's a possibility. But when you connect the despaired even to life, that kind of changes the perspective. That's like, this is how I felt. I'm burdened. This is a feeling that many of us can relate to this very feeling. It's a sense that, boy, I not only have these problems of life, but I don't have the strength to go on and deal with it. How can I endure these different challenges? Between these external challenges and the internal weaknesses that I have, like Paul, we may be burdened beyond measure. What seems that we have no strength to carry on, that helpless kind of feeling that ultimately just leaves us feeling lost. And sometimes, yeah, it could be those things that are outside. The external pressures that fall on us, like that weight of problems and issues that we face, the circumstances that we're living in at the moment. Yeah, oftentimes that's it. Those are the things that seem to be overwhelming.

Are there people in the Bible that dealt with it? Well, we looked at Paul here for a moment.

I mean, just think of the prophet Hosea. He's the one that God told him to marry a harlot, remember? How'd you like to live that life? Do you think circumstances were kind of difficult when your wife that you love, you love very deeply, cheats on you, runs around, and yet you care for her? And then you've got these children that aren't really mine. I'm dealing with all these circumstances, not due to his own problems, not his own faults, but the issues, the circumstances, the events that were happening in his life. Yeah, overwhelming. Many people think of Job and what he went through, how he lost his family and his wealth and his health through no fault, no drastic sin of his own. And so when you look at areas like that, it's not necessarily something within me that's causing some of this weight to be upon me. Sometimes it's those outside things. And it's easy to get discouraged when you have to face those kinds of situations, especially when you don't see a way out. There's no way out. When you look at the Psalms, we find an interesting connection to that very perspective. I'll go over to Psalm 42. Psalm 42 is an interesting psalm that speaks to some of these external pressures that come upon us, the circumstances, the events that that life may bring. You know, those waves of difficulty and discouragement that might wash into our life. And in Psalm 42, it speaks to a circumstance much like that. And as we look here, this particular psalm, it's sometimes thought to have been David that was the one that inspired this particular psalm. The sons of Korah are the ones that seem to have written this down and turned it into a piece of special music that speaks to this idea of the challenges and the helplessness that we often might feel. And so when you look at Psalm 42, notice the connection here with the way that David often feels throughout many of the other psalms that he penned. Of course, Psalm 42 is that psalm that speaks about the deer that pants for the water brook. We sing that beautiful hymn. And it's interesting as we see that as the beginning of this psalm, it quickly turns to verse 3 where it says, My tears have been my food day and night.

And then when you look down to verse 5, it says, Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you disquieted within me? When you get that sense of being overwhelmed, a sense of hopelessness, like I'm stuck in this situation, I'm just not going to get out of this. He says then in verse 8, he says, The Lord will command His loving kindness. But verse 9, I'll say to God, My rock, why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of my enemy? And so he's feeling the weight. Verse 11, Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you disquieted within me? And you can feel the hurt and the pain, feeling alone because of the circumstances. And of course, this probably speaks to the many times that David was on the run and they wanted to kill him. And then his own family revolted against. Can you imagine the emotional struggles he must have dealt with? Just feeling lost and, well, God, where are you? Are you here? Are you with me? And if you feel like that, we recognize those things run deep. They run deep. And of course, there are times that it's not those outside things. Sometimes it's those inside things, those internal struggles that we have. And those struggles, those are our weaknesses, that we fall short spiritually, that we can't seem to get a handle on our emotions. And when that happens, it just seems to amplify the difficulties and the challenges. And when you recognize your personal shortcomings, well, might leave you even more discouraged.

Well, we can find we're not alone in those feelings. If we look to the book of Romans, come with me over to Romans 7. In Romans 7, here we find the Apostle Paul really describing this inner turmoil in the difficulties that he was facing and the discouragement that can come along with that. Sometimes we may read over this and not realize just the conflict that he's dealing with. Now, some of the scholars say, well, this was Paul before he was converted, that he faced these challenges and these struggles. But you know, that's something we face on an ongoing basis because conversion isn't instantaneous. It is a journey. It is an ongoing change. And so Paul writes about that challenge. As we look at this, he talks about that very fact. And as we look at verse 20 in Romans 7, it is kind of interesting the way that he deals with this very thing. And as he discusses the challenges that he faces, he says, all right, in this what I do, this is verse 20, now if I do what I will not to do, I'm doing those things I don't want to do. He says, it's not I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I'm fighting my human nature. That's an ongoing battle. In fact, he says, I find a law. I find a principle of life is that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. So you almost feel this downcast perspective. You know, I want to do what's right, but he even talks about it when I want to do good, there's sin right there at the door. What am I going to do? He comes to this point as he gets down to verse 24. He says, oh wretched man that I am. He really feels it. He sees it. He understands it. Who will deliver me from this body of death? So there's this deep seated internal conflict that Paul's dealing with here, feeling like he's trapped, trapped in his own weaknesses, trapped in his own sin. Discouraging? Oh, I say so. And that internal conflict and that discouragement just seems to be extended and amplified. And it's not just the weight of life's problems, but it's what's going on inside of me and my own spiritual inadequacy. And that's what Paul speaks of. Now he talks about the solution next, which becomes so powerful. In fact, it speaks, I think, to the one key that we're given in order to defeat discouragement, in order to begin to overcome that weight that hangs on us. There's just one key. Now, it has several facets, several aspects to this key that we can overcome.

Simply stated, remember God's promises. That's the key. Remember God's promises, and they're numerous and multifaceted. But in the promise of God is the key to overcome the challenges of discouragement. In order to defeat it and put it away, when we're facing these kinds of difficulties, when we recall the promises of God, it can help reframe our thinking. You know, God is always there. What Paul speaks to here in chapter 7 is despite the challenges of being wretched and sinful, God is there for us when we repent and we change, and we try to put on the thinking of Christ. God is there. He's there in our weakness. God promises to be there even in our weakness. That's a foundational truth. That is something that God has promised that we can hang on to. That even in our struggles, even in the challenges, and it's not just kind of a vague kind of comfort that, well, I'm with you in this. No, it's deeply practical. It's a practical thing. And Isaiah speaks to that. Isaiah 41 reminds us of the practicality of God's presence with us in our weakness and the promise that He gives us. Not that it's just a nice idea thinking that God's with us. It's more than that. He's promised it. He has promised to be there with us. Isaiah 41, we'll begin in verse 10.

Here God inspires the prophet Isaiah amongst all the troubles that his people were having.

No matter what the situation, we find this amazing promise that God gives. Isaiah, speaking on behalf of God here in Isaiah 41, notice verse 10. God says, fear not. I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you.

Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

So it's not just God saying, well, believe in me and feel better. I didn't say that.

God is offering Himself as a source of strength. God is the source of assistance. God is a source of support. And so when I feel alone, I feel like I'm deserted. I feel like, what we read in Psalm 42. When we feel like that, what does God tell us? You're not alone.

I'm sitting right there beside you. We are never alone. In the presence of His power is where we are. And He tells us that His willingness is always there. He's always there. He's like a dear friend who just comes to comfort us. Doesn't have to say a word, but is right there with us. And there is strength. And there is power there. And it provides a foundation as He sits with us, comes alongside of us so that we can overcome the discouragement of life's challenges.

In fact, if you look back to Psalm 34, it speaks to that very thing that God is there even in our weakness. Even in our weakness, God is there. Psalm 34, notice verse 17. Psalm 34 verse 17, a beautiful song that is such a good reminder that God's presence isn't just a comfort. It certainly is a comfort. It certainly isn't encouragement, no doubt. But here it emphasizes the fact that our God is an active source of help. Notice Psalm 34 verse 17. It says, The righteous cry out, and maybe God will hear. Well, I hope He hears. I wonder if He'll hear.

No, it doesn't say that. We cry out, and the Lord hears. Now that would be great if it ended there, wouldn't it? I feel good about it. Oh, God hears me. But it doesn't stop there.

He goes beyond that. Not only does the Lord hear, it says He delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and save such as have a contrite spirit.

Certainly speaks to the fact that God comes alongside us.

And as He talks about a broken heart and a contrite spirit, yeah, there's a connection to repentance, changing our attitude and our minds, aligning ourselves with God. Certainly being in a state of forgiveness. Yeah, absolutely.

But you know, it goes beyond that as well. When you talk about brokenheartedness, that may not have a thing to do with sin. It may just be the health issues I'm facing. It just might be my relationship issues I'm having. It might just be the responsibilities that are weighing me down, the things that I just can't accomplish for myself, my lack of spiritual growth or what I see to be that. Maybe that's it. I'm brokenhearted. Now, when we think of that, it certainly should remind us of passages like Psalm 34.

Are those passages that tell us about why Christ came? He came to heal the brokenhearted.

That's not a bone. No, it's not necessarily a sin. It's life. It's being human. And He draws near to us. That's what Psalms are telling us, that He comes alongside and He offers us His strength so that we can rise above discouragement. So we're able to go on. And when we're feeling our lowest and we're feeling overwhelmed by our weaknesses or just the weight of the circumstances, there's absolutely no doubt we can take full assurance that God is not far off. He's right here with us. And He wants to help and He's willing to help and He promises to help in our weaknesses.

Now, that's one facet of God's promises. But it doesn't stop there. There's such an important aspect to this very thought that He gives us that it goes so far beyond just being there to help us. God has promised to finish the work He began in us. That's a promise of God. He promises to finish the work that He began in you. And it just doesn't say it just once in Scripture. He reminds us of that very fact over and over and over. And of course, it's easy. When we feel bad, we feel discouraged, we feel down, maybe we've fallen short. Yeah, maybe it's even sin. And I repent and I change and yet I feel so discouraged because am I even worthy of God's calling? Do I even deserve to be here? I keep messing up. And sometimes it's the same thing over and over again. God, haven't you just said, forget it? You're just not with it. You're not with the program. You know, just give up. And we can feel that way. But what does God assure us of?

Well, if we look at 1 Corinthians chapter 1, right at the very beginning of this letter to God's church in Corinth. Now think about that for a moment. What was Corinth like? They were in rough shape. 1 Corinthians is the letter that probably deals with more challenges in one congregation than any other. And all the problems that they had, they couldn't get along with each other. They put up with sin in the congregation. They weren't celebrating God's Sabbath correctly. They didn't keep the Passover. You could just go on and on and talk about all these issues that they were dealing with. Talk about a weight. Boy, they had all kinds of things. And yet as Paul begins this letter to help guide them and get them to get the right perspective and understand that they've got to change and align themselves with God's way, he says something remarkable here right at the very beginning of the letter. In chapter 1, notice verse 4. As he begins, he says, I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God, which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by him in all utterance and all knowledge. Wow! Can you imagine that? He didn't say, you guys are a bunch of losers and you better shape up or I'm going to have to kick you out of the church. He doesn't say that. He says, I thank God for you. I thank God that he's working with you, that he extends grace and mercy, and that you understand some of these things. He says, verse 7, you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. They wanted the return of Christ. And he acknowledges that fact right at the very beginning of the letter. And then in connection to the return of Christ, he says, you're waiting for the revelation, the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 8, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful.

God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. So here Paul emphasizes an amazing fact. As we strive to live a life that is one that walks in righteousness, as we remain repentant before God, he's there for us. He says he's going to confirm us to the end. That's an interesting word, that confirm word, same word for steadfast or certain or security is tied into that very word. You're going to make this solid. He will confirm you to the end, to the end, to the goal, to the kingdom. God can't wait to give us eternal life. And God is faithful to finish what he started. God wants to finish what he started. Why did he call me? Why did he call you? Why does he want us a part of his way? Well, he can't wait to have you be a part of his family. He wants you there. And it's interesting if you do a study of Paul's writings, how many times he contrasts the first century pagan world with the one true God?

Well, what is our one true God like in comparison to those pagan gods that aren't even gods, that you Romans and you Greeks believe in? I'll do a study on those gods, on Hermes and Zeus.

Were they the loving, caring, fatherly kind of gods? No, those were the gods that were always throwing dead bolts at you, or lightning bolts at you, or shooting arrows at you. They're trying to trip you up, and somehow you've got to appease these gods in order to even survive, because they don't really like human beings. Our God isn't like that. Our God is a God of love. Our God is a God of purpose. And if he called you, he wants you there. He wants you in the Kingdom. And when we do, we could pull away, we could throw off God's guiding hand, and we could choose to go another. We always have free choice, no doubt about that. When we lock into God's way, and we align ourselves with God, and we stay in that repentant attitude before Him, He forgives us. He justifies us. He brings us into a right relationship. He forgives our sin. And He says we are enriched in everything. We're called into the fellowship, the sharing, the partnership of His Son, our Savior, Jesus the Christ. And He wants to confirm that to the very end. That's His intention. That's God's intention. And it's not just here. If you look over at 1 Thessalonians 5, 1 Thessalonians 5, He gives us kind of a reiteration of this promise to help us overcome the discouragement and disappointment, recognizing, God started in me. He wants to finish this work. And in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, notice verse 23. In this section of Scripture, here Paul thanks the Thessalonians. They had supported Him as He journeyed and traveled. They ministered to Him. They served Him. They sent supplies. They were helping Him. And it's interesting how He recognizes that in this encouragement He gives them in 1 Thessalonians 5, 23. He says, Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. That sanctify means He sets you apart completely. Boy, if God's setting us apart, has He got His eye on us? Is He with us? Is He there for us? Absolutely. And then he says, And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then he says, Who calls you, or He who calls you, is faithful. And that faithfulness of God means God will keep His promise. God can't break His promise. He will always keep His word. That's what our faith is based on, that God is faithful. And He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. He'll do it. And that He'll do it phrase is an interesting one, because in a sense it's a pledge. It's a promise. It's another reminder that this is what God intends, that He promises to set us apart. And He promises to set us apart and sanctify us and shape us into the image of His Son. And when we rely on Him and we respond and submit to the Holy Spirit, we will not fail.

We will not fail. Take a look at Philippians 1.6. I'm not going to turn there, but it says it's straight out. He who started a good work in you will see it to completion. He will see it to completion. Now you can try to deny that and walk away. God gives you free moral agency. You have free choice. You could walk away from that. You stay with God. What's His intent? He wants you there. He expects you to be there. He's going to do everything He can to ensure you will be there.

And so when we feel inadequate, we feel overwhelmed, I have to rely on my own strength? Nope. Boy, if we had to do that, we'll all be in trouble. Anything that we do that is godly, anything that we do that is spiritual, that's not us. That is God in us. That is God in us doing those things. All the other things? Yeah, that's me. Yeah. But God is the one. And God in His faithfulness says He's going to finish that work that He began. Even then, the times that we feel we're not making progress, where you feel like, wow, this just doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Always trust God is at work. God is at work. Of course, do your part, no doubt. But as we trust in Him, He will establish us. He will strengthen us. He will come alongside of us. And He'll continue to be there for us, to help us to overcome that discouragement.

Because one of the interesting facets of God's promises is that He's going to help us to finish that work. He's not going to do it for us, but He's going to do it in us so that we can make the right choices. In fact, if you turn over to the book of Hebrews, He mentions another facet of His promises. And in this particular section, He talks about the fact that God promises to deliver you from temptation. Because that can be one of those overwhelming weights that we feel, that I can't do it. And I've had all these things coming at me. How am I going to overcome? Well, He speaks to that here in Hebrews 2. Notice verse 14, that God promises to deliver us, to deliver us. And He gives the ultimate example to prove that point. Notice what He says, Hebrews 2.14. He says, Inasmuch as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death. That is the devil.

And yes, we are flesh and blood, but we have a Savior who knows what that's like, that experienced life in the way that we have. And He overcame. And that temptation that can bring discouragement, especially when we struggle with the sins that we're dealing with, we can at times feel trapped in a cycle of problems that just seem to be going round and round and round.

But here we see there's a promise. And the entire book of Hebrews reminds us that we have Jesus Christ, our Savior. We have a faithful high priest who understands us, who knows what it's like, who will be there to help us in time of need. And if we feel that cycle of temptation or discouragement, we can trust in the fact that He wants to deliver us. And we can lean into that. We can lean into God's strength, especially in those times that we're weak. And so God wants us to do that very thing. In fact, if we turn a couple of pages here to Hebrews 10, we can see that promise of deliverance. Of course, the ultimate deliverance is when we will be delivered as Christ returns, and He will deliver this world into the hands of the Father, ultimately. Yeah, Christ is our deliverer, and He will deliver us. And here, He points out an aspect of that deliverance here in verse 19 of Hebrews 10. He says, therefore, brethren, have boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus. So we have a Savior who died for us, and in His sacrifice is where we can be declared righteous. We can be acquitted of sin. We can be forgiven and be right with God. He promises that. And so a little bit farther down, verse 23, He says, hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. And here we find the basis of that hope. It says, for He who promised is faithful. So through Jesus Christ, we can come right in the very presence of God the Father, and we can experience His peace. We can experience His love. We can experience His grace. And when it feels like there is just a fog of Paul around us, God is there. Even when we feel unworthy of being in His presence, we've got a high priest who's on our side, who understands what we're going through, who's going to help us to deal with those issues and turn to God and draw near. And so when you begin to recognize the promise of His presence, it's always with us. He's called us to be with us, to be our elder brother, to be our Father. And so when we recognize that, it can help frame the challenges, the discouragement, the disappointment that we face in our life. A while back, somebody just tell me a little story that I thought it was about this shade of discouragement because it can be like a cloud that hangs over us. As they were starting to tell me this story, I thought that's where the story was going. But it ended up in a whole different direction than I thought. And they told the story about a little sapling, a little tree that started to grow in the middle of the forest. Of course, all these giant trees are all around it, and all it is is in the shade, and it can't even move at all to be able to get even a little bit of sunlight. So I thought, oh yeah, that's discouragement. I'm in the shade, and I'm out of luck, and it's just terrible, and you know, all of those kinds of things. But as they told the story, that little seedling felt like, okay, I'm never going to get strong enough. I'm never going to grow tall. I'm always going to be this weak little sapling that is just always going to be in trouble. Never get the warmth. Never get the light of those taller trees. Well, supposedly one day, one of the big trees said, hang on a second, don't look at it that way. He said, I was a little sapling at one time as well. And even though that shade that covers you might seem like a hindrance, he said, actually, that's where you're nurtured. Because the shade of the rest of the forest trees that keeps out the storms and the harshness of this world. It keeps the winds at bay.

What does that allow you to do? It allows you to grow. It allows you to sink your roots deeply and steadily, and you're going to grow stronger because of it. Sure enough, the story goes, yep, that little seedling grew. And finally, it became more resistant to the storms and the challenges, and it grew large. But it wasn't because he had the sunlight his whole life. It's because of the shade. It's because of the shade.

And as I think of that story, it reminds me of what's written in Psalm 91.

If you look over at Psalm 91, it speaks to this very thought.

It mirrors what's written here in Psalm 91 right at the very beginning of the chapter here.

Notice what it says. He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. So you can just imagine God shadowing us. He's watching over us. And what's the implication of this Psalm? He's protecting us. He wants us to grow. And so here we have just like that little sapling that grew strong in the shade. This is us. We can grow spiritually strong when we are in the presence of God as He shadows us. He watches over us. And that presence is always there. It's always guiding us and guarding us and nurturing us. And so just like it might feel like, wow, I can't do this, we're actually in a safe place.

God's got us and He gets us. And it's where we can be strengthened for the challenges that are going to come ahead, even if we feel hidden, even if we feel weak. And so as we consider what Psalm 91 says, yeah, that brings encouragement when we are discouraged. And even if we're struggling, we struggle with things like guilt and we struggle with things like shame.

Well, is God's forgiveness still at hand? Is it still available to us? No doubt. We don't have to carry the weight of our failures. Certainly through that heartfelt connection to God and changing our perspective, He's going to give us that freedom from sin. He'll forgive us. He forgives us of our sin and removes the penalty. And I think that takes us to another facet of His promises that is just absolutely remarkable. God promises to give meaning to our suffering. Have you ever thought about it in those terms? God promises to give meaning to the things we have to suffer. We are familiar with that passage over in 1 Peter. We probably heard it quite often. Let's look at it in this context for a moment. 1 Peter 4, verse 12. 1 Peter 4, verse 12, in this whole little section, we find Peter recounting this very fact. See if it fits within this context of God's promise to bring meaning, even when it seems like, what is going on? Why am I dealing with this? How can I overcome this discouragement? You mean it could actually be something more to it than just what I'm facing? Well, in verse 12, he reminds us. He says, Don't think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you. Well, what's he saying? Life happens. God didn't set up life to be perfect. That's just the way it's going to be. That's the way it is.

And as an example of that, he brings in the example of Christ. He said, Rejoice to the extent that you partake in Christ's sufferings. And so it turns things around. Oh yeah, Christ went through things and I probably deserve most of the things I'm suffering, but he didn't. He didn't deserve any of those things. And so he ultimately says, When his glory is revealed, you may be also glad with exceeding joy. And so we recognize this very fact that God's going to use the challenges. He's going to use the circumstances and the events in our life to refine us, to help us to be more like Christ, to bring honor to his name. It's not anything I can do, but God can do these things in me and through me. And he's telling us it's not just suffering for suffering's sake. There's intent behind it that ultimately the meaning is God wants you to be like Christ. And if we're like Christ, we're told we will be in the kingdom. We will be in the family. In fact, if we turn back to Romans 8, there's another passage that certainly speaks to the encouragement that God brings. Notice Romans 8, as it speaks to this very thing, as we suffer trials and difficulties and challenges and discouragement. Yeah, we're right there. And as we recognize what it says, well, let's look at verse 26. It says, likewise the Spirit helps in our weaknesses. So God's Spirit is in us. And at times, he says, we don't know what we should pray for as we ought. Well, do I pray that God takes away this trial? Do I pray that God uses this trial to teach me? Do I pray that God heal me? Do I pray God help me to learn? Sometimes it's like that. Sometimes not knowing what to pray for means I am so discouraged. I don't know what to say. I don't even know how to express this, God. I don't even know the words. I can't even get it out. God understands. He says the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings that can't be... I can't get it out. But through God's Spirit, He understands us. God gets us. And ultimately, He tells us in verse 28, we know all things work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.

I love that passage because it's all inclusive. Nothing's left out. Everything works for good. When we love God, we put God first in our life. He works all things for good. Everything. Now, does it... He didn't put a time stamp on this, did He? He didn't say, oh yeah, okay, trusted me and tomorrow it's all going to be great. Now, I don't say that. It doesn't even say in this life it's all going to work for good, does it? No, He begins to talk about, you know, our ultimate calling in the Kingdom, being a part of the Kingdom, will be conformed to the image of His Son in His Kingdom. Yeah, that's right. But He can work these situations, the discouragement, the times that we feel overwhelmed to help us to grow spiritually and ultimately use them for good.

God promises that. That gives meaning to the suffering that we go through. It helps frame it. So, I think it's just important to remember, I'm going through some painful things, God.

But it's not useless. God isn't doing that suffering that we go through in vain.

He's using it to refine us and to shape us. And ultimately, He's telling us we can endure. Yeah, sometimes He'll say He could take it away. He could take that thing away immediately. Right? God won't try us more than we're able. Paul just said that a little bit earlier here.

Yeah, sometimes that's the case. He'll remove the difficulty. He'll just help us to have a different frame of mind. But other times, He says, I'll give you the strength to get through it.

I can work it for good, ultimately. And we can endure because God is faithful to use those challenges, use that suffering, use that disappointment, ultimately to honor Him, to bring Him glory and honor. Because ultimately, He wants to bring us to His Kingdom. And so He says, don't let your heart be troubled. Don't be heartbroken. You believe in God. Christ says, believe in Me. And that problem reminds us that even in our suffering, that's temporary. That's temporary. Because ultimately, we have a better future ahead in the family of God. And so if we feel hopeless or we feel discouraged, just remember this isn't real life. This is just a temporary situation, right? This is just temporary. We're looking for a real home. And so when we feel that life is challenging us so much, we don't know what we're going to do. When we're faced with our own weaknesses and those moments that we're struggling, God gives us His unwavering wavering assurance. God is faithful that we can take to heart His promises. And whether it's the promise that He's committed to finish the work in us that He began, or whether it's the fact that He's going to protect us from our enemies, or whether it's the fact that He's going to provide meaning for our suffering, or whether it's the fact that He's promised to never leave us alone in our struggles, God's the source of strength. God's the source of hope. He's the source of peace that enables us to face the struggles. And we can do it with with the renewed courage, because He's there with us. And so when we face these difficulties, God says, shift your focus from the weight of our problems to the sufficiency of the grace of God. God is all sufficient. He is all powerful and all faithful. And so as we renew our minds and we lean into His promises, we can face the most overwhelming circumstances with hope and with confidence. And we can do it with peace, knowing without a shadow of a doubt, He is with us every step of the way, helping us.

God is there to help us to defeat discouragement.