Part 6
Hebrews 2:1 AMP SINCE ALL this is true, we ought to pay much closer attention than ever to the truths that we have heard, lest in any way we drift past [them] and slip away.
Joshua 1:6 NKJV Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
Joshua 1:9 NKJV Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Courage (Dictionary) the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.
The Hebrew word for “be strong and courageous” means with “the end result in mind”. The same word is used to mean “conquered” or “prevailed”.
Why Am I Discouraged?
Psalms 42:1-6 NLT As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, O God. (2) I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before Him? (3) Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?” (4) My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration! (5) Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again–my Savior and (6) my God! Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember You–even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar.
Psalms 42:11 NLT Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again–my Savior and my God!
- We forget that God is always with us.
Psalms 42:2 NIV My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
- We pay too much attention to what the enemy is saying to us.
Psalms 42:3 NLT Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?”
- We have withdrawn from what gives us strength.
Psalms 42:4 NLT My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration!
Encourage Yourself!
1 Samuel 30:4-6 KJV (4) Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. (5) And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. (6) And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
Before David even attempted to encourage his men, he had to encourage himself.
Most of the time, you will need to encourage yourself. God won’t do it for you.
Charles Spurgeon once said, “Some of the best talks in the world are those which a man has with himself. He who speaks to everybody except himself is a great fool.”
Psalms 34:1-8 NKJV I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. (2) My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. (3) Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. (4) I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. (5) They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. (6) This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. (7) The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. (8) Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
- Magnify God in your thinking.
Psalms 34:3 NKJV Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.
“Magnify” means “to enlarge or make bigger in perspective.” When we magnify a small object with a magnifying glass, a microscope or a telescope, we don’t change its reality. We don’t make the object we are observing any bigger; we change our perception of it.
We cannot make God any bigger than He already is—you can’t increase omnipotence—but you can magnify (or diminish) your perspective of God. Perspective has everything to do with whether you are encouraged or discouraged.
Refuse to magnify the devil. Refuse to magnify the present negative circumstance. Don’t analyze your trouble with a magnifying glass—this exercise will lead to deeper discouragement.
- Remember what the Lord has already done for you.
Psalms 42:6 Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember You…
Psalms 34:6 NKJV This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.
It is a whole lot easier to have courage when you know what the end result is going to be. You can be courageous when you know that you will prevail and conquer in whatever it is you are facing.
- Inquire and require of the Lord
Psalms 34:4 AMP I sought (inquired of) the Lord and required Him [of necessity and on the authority of His Word], and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. [Ps. 73:25; Matt. 7:7.]
Make a demand on God’s Word.
- Make up your mind that you will praise and worship the Lord at all times.
Psalms 34:1 NKJV I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
David sang, “I will bless the Lord at all times.” All times—good times, bad times, great times and terrible times. Even on the worst day of your life, God is worthy of praise. David sang praises to God from the ashes of Ziklag.
Psalms 42:11 NLT Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again–my Savior and my God!