[Photo credit: cropped from a photo by Prapoth Panchuea on Unsplash]

I’ve been trying to write a book for over seven years. It’s hit and miss. Sometimes I come away from my writing time with a beaming smile and I literally bounce around the house. Other times I feel as though I’m slugging through the middle of nowhere, blindly stumbling in circles. I’ll give you one guess which I prefer.

To be discouraged is to lose confidence or enthusiasm. I picture a slightly deflated balloon. It was once bright and full, but now it’s shrivelled and shrunk. Or someone with shoulders slumped over, head down. Low energy and low hope. But this is not the picture of the abundant life Jesus promises here on earth. It looks more like the aftermath of an attack by the one who comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).

Discouragement is a normal feeling, and the feeling itself tells us something, but it’s like a hot potato – you want to let go of it as quickly as you can. There are many reasons we may become discouraged. Here are some:

• We are in the middle of a long haul

I am not a runner but working on this book is like running an ultra-marathon without the benefit of using many calories. A mammoth commitment is easy in the beginning when we are excited, energised, and eager to go! We also get motivated near the end when the finish line is in sight, and perhaps the crowds are cheering us on. It’s the many middle miles that form the domain of discouragement. No free motivation, only pure determination.

Discouragement tells us we need to be reminded of the vision, we need to know someone sees our efforts, we need cheering on by our people, we need validation from God and the grace to endure.

• Other people don’t catch our vision

We may share our idea with great passion, expecting an enthusiastic response, but all we get is a blank stare, an eye roll, or a caution to come back to reality. Even the unenthusiastic response of one important person in our lives can evoke discouragement.

We need validation from God, and to be reminded that we act to please God, not to please anyone else. We need a group of people who share the same heart, “get” our vision, and can encourage us.

• Our efforts are criticized

Criticism will come. Change your tune and the critics will change, but the criticism will still be there. The simple fact is that we cannot please everybody. Some criticism is outright and obvious, given with an unacceptable attitude. Other criticism is kind and constructive, but we tend to focus on the negative even if the positive comments far outweigh the negative. Other criticism is coated in sickly sweet syrup and leaves one feeling nauseous and confused.

Discouragement tells us we need to be reminded why we are doing what we are doing, and to know we are appreciated, that our efforts are seen. We need to close our ears to those who do not have our best interests at heart. We need validation from God, and perhaps we need to stop being so hard on ourselves.

• We realise how much work is ahead

Our fervour can quickly fizzle out when we come face-to-face with the reality of how much work is ahead. Commitments are not particularly exciting when we carefully examine the blueprints and the fine print. We may groan inwardly when we begin to assess the cost in time, effort, and resources. Perhaps our rose-coloured glasses got lost, or our goal post keeps shifting, or our expectations simply are not working as planned. Whatever the reason, discouragement is a likely result, but not one we wish to entertain for long.

We need to be reminded of the bigger picture and why we are committed to persevering. We need to be cheered on, or perhaps joined by others who are working towards the same goal. We may need clarity from God regarding our vision or expectations.

The way out of discouragement

In a nutshell, when we are discouraged, we need to be encouraged (assuming we are doing the work God has called us to do.) The word encourage comes from the Old French combination of en- “to make or put in” and corage, “courage or heart.” Pump up that deflated balloon. Infuse that slump-shouldered figure with the heart of heaven. Picture energetic passion and abundant life.

Here are some ways to navigate out of discouragement:

• Ask someone to encourage you (especially another Christian)

While it is possible to encourage ourselves (“Praise the Lord, o my soul,” Psalm 103:1), encouragement usually comes from someone else. To be encouraged is to allow another person to build us up, strengthen us, enhearten us. The Bible tells us to “encourage one another and build each other up,” and to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds… encouraging one another,” (1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 10:24-25).

To ask for encouragement when we need it seems obvious, but we often don’t even think of it as an option. (Perhaps we mope around with an overly long lip, hinting and hoping someone will brighten our day. I may or may not have done that before.) If you need encouragement, don’t be afraid to ask a friend. You don’t have to tell them everything that is going on. Just ask them to pray for you, or to tell you something that you are doing well. Give them a moment to think so their encouragement can be genuine.

• Endurance

Sometimes we just need to keep persevering, putting one foot in front of the other. Sooner or later we turn a corner, see a beautiful vista, become refreshed. The author of Hebrews encourages us to keep going. “… Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart,” (Hebrews 12:1-3).

Just as the heroes of faith who are listed in the previous chapter, all Christians are to persevere, endure, discipline themselves to continue the race. Though it is difficult, we (most of us) have not had our faith tested to the level of those gone before us. We will be encouraged as we consider Jesus, who endured opposition from sinners and the cross. Jesus held fast to the bigger picture: the joy set before Him – the redemption of the world from the sting of sin and death and its reconciliation to God.

As we keep going in faithfulness, we can be assured that wee won’t feel discouraged forever. Sooner or later discouragement will give way to contentment, joy, renewed vision, or invigoration.

• Remind yourself of truth and the bigger picture

King David knew discouragement. He wrote Psalm 42 in a “dry” season. He was feeling forgotten by God (v. 9) and longed desperately to feel the closeness he had once felt to God when, with great joy, he would even lead others to meet with God (v. 1, 4). David’s opponents were mocking him because he still believed in God, who at the time was seemingly inactive. But David also knew God’s character and that He would prove faithful. Twice in the Psalm he penned the refrain:

 “Why are you downcast, O my soul? … Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Saviour and my God,” (Psalm 42:5 & 11).

David was honest about his feelings, discouragement being among them. But he did not wallow there. He encouraged himself (“o my soul”) to put his hope in God – to lift his eyes off himself and onto God, who is much bigger than David’s discouraging circumstances were. David was 100% certain that he would again praise God from a place of joyful thanksgiving. Though nothing in his circumstances changed, he could actively hope in God. Though he did not know when his dry season would end, David encouraged himself by reminding himself of truth and putting his hope in God.

• Read the Bible

Our greatest source of encouragement and validation will always be God. He knows where we are at, sees our every effort, knows any shift in our motives, and He knows exactly why we are discouraged. He gives encouragement and endurance (Romans 15:5). He knows how to remind us of the bigger vision – indeed, He IS our eternal vision. God is also able (mysteriously) to fill us with His very self, the Holy Spirit, whose name also means Comforter and Helper. Now that is an unbeatable source of encouragement!

The most obvious place to find encouragement from God is to read the Bible. Paul taught, “everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). That is not to say we may take any verse and apply it willy-nilly, but a careful reading of Scripture with a heart open to hear the Holy Spirit will often refresh us. (Paul was referencing only the Old Testament; how much more encouragement we gain from the New Testament as well.)

I can list certain verses that may be generally encouraging (see below), but the Holy Spirit can spur us on through any portion of Scripture. We may be encouraged by Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi, by Paul’s pressing on toward the prize, or by an obscure verse in Amos. God knows what each of us most needs to hear.

I have just listed a few suggestions for navigating through discouragement. We can also benefit greatly from forgiving our unwarranted critics, keeping a record of how our work has positively affected people, goal-setting and scheduling, working within a team, and learning from others who have persevered through difficult and discouraging situations.

Discouragement will visit and it is normal, but we don’t have to pull out our spare bed and entertain it for long.  It can help us become aware of our needs (for support or connection with God), but it does not need to dictate our days. So, I am going to keep working on my book a couple hundred words at a time. In what are you going to persevere?

Scriptures for when you are feeling discouraged

• “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world,” (John 16:33). Jesus had just warned his disciples of some of the trouble they would experience, but He encouraged them to remember that He was sovereign over their troubles. The same is true for us today – we will experience trouble in this world, but Jesus has overcome the world, so we need not be discouraged.
• “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit,” (Romans 15:13). Paul wrote this blessing just after exhorting the Roman church – Jew and Gentile – to unity. Only God can get the glory for this possibility – this hope – but He fills us with the joy and peace and hope of this unity. If our hope is in God and His plans, we will be greatly encouraged.
• “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal,” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). This passage follows Paul’s description of God working through the suffering of some (persecuted, struck down… v. 8-9) to spread the gospel. Though our allegiance to the gospel may seem to offer us a terrible deal, our eternal future in Christ is secure and it will be glorious.

PS. While you are thinking about encouragement, take a moment to encourage someone else as well! Text them something you like about them or something they have done well. Tell them you see the way they have faithfully served in a specific area for a long time – the things that can be easily taken for granted.