Don’t Lose Heart
It is easy to get
discouraged in our walk with God and our ministry for God. We are daily in a battle with the
world, our flesh, and the Devil.
The state of the church is not good. Terrible things are happening all around us. Tragedy often strikes. Our emotions are quite
unpredictable. And sometimes it
can feel like God is asleep. All
of these factors can cause us to get discouraged.
God knew this when He
warned us to not lose heart. To lose
heart means that we get discouraged to the point where we are tempted to throw
in the towel. We tend to isolate
ourselves and drift into depression.
We begin to believe that the good we are doing is not making any
difference. And we start
questioning whether God is really in control.
Let’s examine a few
scriptures about losing heart and see what practical lessons we can gain from
them. This is so important because
every Christ-follower will at some point in his/her life struggle with losing
heart
Eph. 3:13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.
Paul did not
want others to lose heart over his suffering, because through his suffering
others were going to benefit. When
we go through hard times, though it seems like God has abandoned us, He actually
is working new things in us that will benefit others. This is the price we pay in ministry to others. Those serving God must go through
hardship in order to better minister to others who are suffering. One develops credibility to minister to
hurting people when having gone through tough times yourself. God comforts us that we might be able
to comfort others (2 Cor. 1:3-8).
2 Cor.
4:16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self his being
renewed day by day.
Outer pain
and hardships is what God uses to develop inner character. No one likes this. The process is not fun at all. However, inner character is more
valuable for eternity than temporal difficulties. The key in maturity is to actively have your “inner self …
renewed day by day.” Listen
closely: doing that which renews
our inner self is the key to not losing heart! Here are some suggestions for having your inner self renewed:
a.
Meditate on the Word of God every
day.
God’s Word
will encourage us. God’s Word will
speak to us. God’s Word will give
us hope. Sometimes we have to
force ourselves to read God’s Word, but when we do, He does speak to our heart
and gives us hope. The Word of God
is living and active and able to show us where we are living from our soul or
from God’s Spirit (Hebr. 4:12).
Sometimes our hardships are to wean us from living out of our flesh to
that of God’s Spirit!
b.
Be in community with Godly, mature
believers.
When we are
discouraged, our flesh often wants to isolate from other believers. We tend to only see the negative in the
body of Christ. But our spirit
needs the input and fellowship of godly, mature Believers. Again, sometimes we have to force
ourselves to get this fellowship, but when we do, God uses it to give us hope
and encouragement. Mature
Believers can speak into our lives the truth we need to hear. We particularly need to spend time with
those who have ministered for many years, and in so doing, have endured great
hardships.
c.
Read the biographies and stories of
those who have gone before us.
Read about
suffering missionaries who had a great impact for God. Read about those who have persevered
under trial. Read the wisdom of
pastors and servants of God who have endured hardship but stayed true to the Lord. Hearing from some of that “great cloud
of witnesses” (Hebr. 11) can be very inspiring.
d.
Resist the Devil.
Don’t underestimate the
spiritual warfare involved in discouragement. Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. He wants to steal your joy, kill your
motivation, and destroy your walk and witness for God. Your enemy, the Devil, prowls around
like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, but resist him standing firm
in the faith (1 Pe. 5:8). Those
who are truly seeking God and expanding God’s kingdom, will come under severe
attack. Don’t be ignorant of his
devices. Put on the full armor of
God (Eph. 6). Pray against him by pleading
the blood of Jesus over your life. And don’t be too proud to ask others to pray
for you and over you. Ask God to
strengthen you for the battle you are facing.
e.
Choose to focus on the
positives.
When we are
discouraged, it is often because of circumstances that are negative (e.g.,
state of the church, decline in support, unexplained tragedy, decline in morals
in our world, lack of fruit in our ministry, etc.). Though we can’t ignore these negatives, we have to take time
to equally focus on anything positive we can think of (e.g., look back at how
God has used you; rejoice in churches/ministries that are making a difference;
dwell on how God has always had a people; etc.). This is why Phil. 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is
true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is
anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” And the promise for doing this? “And the God of peace will be with you” (Phil. 4:9). We certainly need peace when we are
losing heart.
f.
Keep an eternal perspective.
It was
probably an eternal perspective that helped to place you on the field of
ministry. Knowing what lasts and
what doesn’t is likely a major motivation in your service for God. Be careful not to lose this
perspective. When the things down
here aren’t going well, it is easy to lose sight of what will last. Take time to once again renew that
eternal perspective, and pledge to God your willingness to endure difficulty
for the sake of eternity. If you
remain true and faithful to God, you will be able to look back from heaven one
day and give praise to God that you did not throw in the towel! “For this light and momentary struggle
is producing an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor.
4:17).
Luke 18:1 And he told them a parable to the
effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
It is easy
to lose heart in prayer. Prayer is
such a mystery. Why do some
prayers get answered quickly, while others take years? When you pray for something you know is
God’s will (e.g., salvation of a person), how do you not lose heart when you
see nothing happening? The parable
Jesus tells in Luke 18 is about persistence in prayer. He speaks of how we must be persistent
and exhibit faith. The unjust
judge responds to the repeated request because the widow wears him out with her
asking. Wow. Are we to wear God out with our
persistence? Maybe. I don’t know, but that is what the
parable seems to teach, among other things. Clearly persistence in prayer is one way to keep from losing
heart.
One aspect
of persistent prayer that is important is listening. In other words, don’t do all the talking in prayer. Listen to God. Believe that He will speak to you. When discouraged, listen to God’s
still, small voice of encouragement.
You might be surprised at what He lays on your heart. As a loving Father, He wants to put
courage and confidence (i.e., encouragement) into His people.
Discouragement
is a normal part of the Christian life.
This is why God’s Word tells us things we can do to avoid losing
heart. Don’t lose heart. God is in control. He loves you and wants to build you
up. He is using you. He wants to use you more. He wants your walk to be full of joy
and purpose. He is not mad at you
for losing heart. But He is sad,
and wants to encourage you in Him.
He wants your number one joy to come from just knowing Him. Look to Jesus. Focus your eyes on Him. Focus on the blessings of your
salvation. Leave to God those
things you don’t understand.
Rejoice in the Lord always.
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