DON'T BE DISCOURAGED

Nehemiah 4:14 “After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."

Many years ago, there was a man in Kentucky who had recently retired from the postal service. He was sitting on his front porch when his first Social Security check arrived and he looked at it and felt so frustrated. He thinks to himself “Is this all I have to look forward to for the rest of my life?” He’s put in a long and hard career and now has little to show for it. Was it really worth all of that hard work? So he sat down and made a list of all of his blessings and the good things he had going for him. Included in that list was his mother’s famous recipe for fried chicken which included eleven different herbs and spices. He was the only one who knew that recipe. So he went to a nearby restaurant and asked if he could cook the chicken and they said yes. Pretty soon, it became the most popular item at the restaurant. So he opened his own restaurant and called it Kentucky Fried Chicken and the rest is history. Harland Sanders was tired and frustrated but he refused to give up.

Every once in a while in life, we all reach a point where we are just ready to throw in the towel and give up. We’re tired, frustrated, and exhausted and feel like there’s no use in continuing to try. Whether it’s a job, a relationship, health related problems, school; trying to lose weight, etc…we sometimes just don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel and had rather just quit the fight. Have you been there before?

Discouragement has been defined as “the feelings of despair in the face of obstacles.” It’s when you’re just tired of giving forth the effort and you’re ready to call it quits.

This passage in the book of Nehemiah is a great story about both the causes and the cures for discouragement. Many years earlier in the history of Israel, the walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed and the people were now defenseless and vulnerable to their enemies.
Nehemiah was called by God to lead the people in rebuilding the walls. But it seemed like an impossible task and the moral of the people was low. They were very discouraged and couldn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.

They were tired. They were frustrated. They felt like failures. They said “we cannot do this.” They were even gripped with fear. No doubt, it was a monumental task. But God was preparing to give them the strength to accomplish something special. We must determine what it is that is causing the discouragement in our life. Fatigue? Frustration? Failure? Fear? Once you have discovered it, you must do something about it-Rest, Reorganize, Remember and Reconnect with God, Resist it, reload and keep fighting the battle, but never give up.

Most importantly, reconnect with God. He’s waiting to hear from you. He doesn’t care whether you’re angry or depressed, frustrated or worried; He just wants to hear from you. Discouraged today? Perhaps it’s time to get reconnected. God will revive your passions and you will do great things.