分类: Discouragement - Jethro TOOLS

Discouragement

10/12/2025

1 Kings 19:1-18
Talk about discouragement. I watched as all my hard work slid to one side and oozed all over the bottom of the refrigerator. It all started with a dream. I had heard a news report where a baker combined a cake with a pie. The concept is fairly simple. Take a fully baked pie and turn it upside down in a cake pan. Next, pour a cake mix over the pie and bake. Repeat the process with two more pies and complementary cakes, then turn them over, stack them together, slather them with icing and enjoy. My problem was that the cherry pie was not firm enough and the chocolate cake was not cool enough. My elaborate dream ended up in a disastrous pile of goo in the fridge. What a mess! My wife and I laughed, because that is all we could do. I was disillusioned and discouraged. However, with new hope, a new plan and new pies I was able to finally pull off a towering delight that combined three cakes and three pies. First Kings 18 records the events of the disillusioned and discouraged prophet Elijah. Previously, Elijah had seen God perform a great victory over the false prophets, provide rain to the drought parched land, and the energy to out run the king and his chariot. Now, Elijah was spiritually disillusioned with the results of Mt. Carmel, physically drained from running, and emotionally discouraged. Has your dream turned to despair? Elijah was there. The queen threatened his life and he ran in fear (19:3). How can we live life with God’s point of view and not discouragement and fear? This Bible text calls us to remember God’s past work, believe that God is in control, find strength in God, listen to His word and follow His directions. When we do, God becomes central and the circumstances become secondary.

For More See 1 KINGS

Faith Over the Impossible

12/12/2023

Luke 1:67-80
The unbelieving priest. That sounds like something that is completely opposite of what it is supposed to be. Zechariah was the religious leader who was to lead the nation in the worship of God, yet his belief faltered. Why? In Luke 1:5-25 God sent an angel to tell Zechariah that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son. Up to this point they were childless. From the text we understand that their inability to have children had been a matter of prayer. So when the angel announced that their prayer had been answered, Zechariah’s faith wavered. He wanted to know how they could have a child since they were old. All Zechariah could see was the human physical impossibility and not faith in the all powerful God despite the seeming impossibility. Have you ever been there? You know, the situation that you have prayed about and nothing changes. We may start out believing but when the answers do not come we easily move from discouragement to disillusionment and perhaps even distance from God. Remember, just because God does not provide the answer in our timeframe, does not mean that God is not at work or capable to work. Zechariah seemed to allow the dark cloud of despair to distort his view of God and doubt His word. Because of his unbelief the angel Gabriel pronounced God’s judgment on Zechariah. He would be silent, unable to speak until the birth of his son (Luke 1:20). Following later in the chapter Luke records that people had to use gestures to communicate with Zechariah (61-63) leading us to believe that he was deaf and mute. Imagine, at least nine months in the solitary confinement of your own thoughts. It seems that God used that time to do His work in old Zechariah’s heart, because the first words out of his mouth were praise to God (68). The life of Zechariah reminds us that we must live by faith believing that God is at work to save us from our sin and self centered pity and trust Him. If you find yourself in the doldrums of despair try praising God for His past and present work. It will change your focus and reignite your faith.

For more see LUKE or SONGS OF CHRISTMAS

God's Plans - present pain future hope

11/13/2022

Jeremiah 29:1-14
Have you ever had surgery? Some time ago I had to face the reality that cancer and its corruption was growing inside me. The best option was surgery to remove the cancer. In the process of preparation for surgery I asked my doctor many questions. I had to trust him completely for the surgery to remove the cancer and for the outcome that I could not see after surgery. My doctor gave me hope that even though this would be a long process of recovery, I would be better in the end. Like you, I did not like the pain of surgery, but the pain had a purpose of bringing about the restoration of my health. I had a compassionate doctor who sought the best plan for my life. Likewise, the prophet Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet because of his continued compassion for his audience. He wrote a letter to his nation, exiled in a foreign land, to give them hope in God. In his book, Jeremiah records how the people have placed their trust in other things rather than God. This led the people to be discouraged as they were in exile. Jeremiah communicates God’s message that there is hope beyond the pain if they trust in Him. For us today the message is the same. Like the people of Jeremiah’s day we are easily led astray and place our trust any where else but in God. Misplaced trust in unreliable and powerless sources will lead to discouragement. However, hope is found by trusting in God who is all powerful. Through the pain of life God is working out His purpose in our life. At times, pain may be God’s design for our correction and redirection, but ultimately it is for our connection with Him. God will use pain for the purpose of drawing us to Him. God’s desire is to give hope in His future.

For more see JEREMIAH or MISAPPLIED SCRIPTURE VERSES

What Are You Doing Here?

5/15/2022

1 Kings 19:1-14
Years ago I learned the value of sunglasses while on a fishing trip. The sun was out and the water was clear, but the fish were not biting. I could sort of see the fish in the stream but my lure was just not getting to them. The problem involved a scientific term known as light refraction. This is an optical illusion where light changes direction when in contact with water. The reality behind the science is that my hook was traveling behind the fish and not in front of the fish where it could be seen. I only learned that after using sunglasses from another fisherman that cut down the light so I could see clearly. Just as our physical perspective can be skewed without sunglasses so our spiritual perspective can be distorted without God’s perspective. In 1 Kings 19 Elijah came to the point of believing that he was the only one left serving God (10, 14). In reality he was not alone because there were over 7000 who had not bowed down to the idol Baal (18). However, his twisted perspective led to disillusionment and discouragement. How can we live to see God’s perspective when we are distracted by discouragement? First we need to rely on God’s perspective and not be influenced by the fear of evil that surrounds us (1-4). Next we must depend on God provision (5-8) and remain where He has placed us (9-10). Discouragement will lead to fear and running away yet God calls us to trust Him. Finally, we need to seek God’s presence (11-14). God brought Elijah to a place where he saw God’s power and heard God’s voice. Today, God still asks, “What are you doing here?” Like Elijah we often get to this location because of fear. God helps us live by faith with His perspective.

For more see QUESTIONS FROM GOD

Discouragement of Faith

8/29/2021

Exodus 5-6
Fishing was the best way to spend the afternoon. So my brothers and I decided to load my car and head toward the river. After some fishing we decided to part ways. My brothers would fish their way up the river and I would drive to the river canyon and scout better fishing locations. The goal was to meet at the canyon. After scouting for fish and not finding any I decided to wash the car. This was my first car so like any teenager I wanted to keep it shiny. I found a perfect little pond and backed in and then, with wisdom that was a bit late, decided to see if I could drive out. Nothing happened as the tires spun on wet slimy rocks. I was discouraged as my brothers walked up laughing at my predicament. We then had a long hike to beg a family friend for a tow. I still remember his words, “You are stuck where?” In many ways that’s what discouragement does. It keeps us stuck in places that we don’t need to be. In Exodus 5:1-5 Moses and Aaron deliver God’s message to Pharaoh. It was not accepted and in their discouragement the people blamed Moses and Moses blamed God (Ex. 5:15-22). God encouraged Moses to see His perspective (Ex. 6:1-8), yet discouragement blinded the eyes of the people and Moses (Ex. 6:9-13). God wanted the problems to deepen their faith and transform their trust in Him. However, discouragement only sees the problem not God who is bigger than the problem. My problem and discouragement caused me to turn to a friend for a tow. My friend just laughed at my problem because he had a solution to my problem. We all get discouraged. Just remember that God is bigger than the problem. Keep trusting Him.

For more see FEAR, FAITH & FOLLOWING

Objection to God's Call

8/15/2021

Exodus 4:1-17
Suppose someone offered you a twenty dollar bill. I am sure you would take it. What if the bill was crumpled up into a ball, stepped on and then dumped in a mud puddle, would you still take it? For twenty dollars I am sure any one of us would accept it, clean it off, and then spend it. Why? Because, we simply understand the value of a twenty dollar bill. Regardless of its condition it is still worth twenty dollars. In Exodus 4 God continues His conversation with Moses that He started in the previous chapter. However, in chapter 4 Moses questions God’s call on his life. He questions if others will believe him (1), doubts his abilities (10) and asks God to send someone else (13). God counters each of his excuses by reminding Moses of His power (2-9), His presence (11-12) and His provision (14-17). All God wanted from Moses was faith to believe Him over his personal hangups and fears. Instead, he had allowed his fears and failure to rule his life, but now God was calling him to live a life of faith. Like the crumpled money, God saw Moses as valuable and usable under His direction. Many times, like Moses, we may only see our failures and feel the discouragement of inability creep in. We need to remember that the God who has called us for His purpose will equip us and guide us to carry His message. As Moses was told to carry the staff and proclaim God’s message, so we are to take the ordinary things of our lives and follow God in faith. God sees us as valuable and wants to use us, but sometimes we just need to crawl out of our thoughts and place our inability into His ability.

For more see FEAR, FAITH & FOLLOWING

Call to Faith

8/8/2021

Exodus 3
A single deer crossed the trail followed shortly by a fawn. Rounding the bend in the trail we were able to have a better view. There, on the side was another fawn trying to cross the trail, but it faced a predicament. We were on one side and a biker was on the other. In typical deer fashion the fawn panicked and tried to run away from the bike. Eventually it darted directly in front of the bike to join mom and its sibling. In the course of about an hour we had the pleasure of observing twenty deer with a number of them being the babies with spots. If you watch closely, a mother deer will call the baby to come toward her. That is exactly what God did with Moses in Exodus 3. Moses was doing his regular job watching over sheep when God called him (1-4). However, this was very different from a deer calling its baby. God called Moses from a bush that did not burn up. As Moses turned to see why the bush did not burn up God spoke and gave him directions (5-10). Like Moses, God still directs our work. We may think that we are forgotten and neglected but God knows exactly where we are and what we are doing. God has a way of gaining our attention to show Himself to us and call us to Himself. Like Moses in verses 11-13, we may struggle with the change. Remember, God directed Moses to the desert, to the bush and to a new way of living by faith. Today, God still calls us to Himself and to a life of faith in Him. All He wants us to do is follow Him. When God calls will we follow or come up with excuses why it is not possible?

For more see FEAR, FAITH & FOLLOWING

Thankfulness and Faithfulness

11/22/2020

Psalm 107:1-9
As a child I fondly remember receiving birthday presents. As I unwrapped the gifts I became more excited as I realized how useful this gift was or how much fun I could have with this new toy. The problem was that my Mom kept a list of who the presents were from and I was expected to write a short thank you note to each of the people who gave me a gift. I dreaded doing this. I would often put it off as long as possible until my Mom made me sit down and write two or three sentences expressing my thanks. I believe that my parents saw the value of instilling in me, from an early age, the habit of thankfulness. When we are thankful for what we do have we appreciate the blessing of new gifts and the graciousness of the giver. In Psalm 107 the author gives an invitation to give thanks to the Lord. The reason to give thanks is found in God’s faithful display of His love for His people. This Psalm was written about the people of Israel returning to the land after God had punished their continual disobedience. They were wandering (4), in need of food and water (5) and discouraged or faint in their spirit (6). Are you wandering and in need of direction for life? Are you in need of daily provisions? Are you in need of encouragement to replace discouragement? The Lord is good and faithful in showing His unfailing love. Trust Him and praise Him. When we thank God for His past faithfulness we will be able to rest in the present because our faith sees a good, faithful and loving God at work.

For more see Thankfulness

How are you?

3/26/2020

Psalm 34
How are you doing? That is a simple question that can lead to a long conversation. In the course of our daily schedule we may hear that question and respond with the simple answer of, “good” or “fine.” Those answers do not accurately describe what is really going on deep inside. It is easy to use those words to avoid pain and an honest conversation. But, on the other side it is way too easy for some one to ask the question and keep walking while not waiting for our response. In Psalm 34:15-18 we see that the LORD is attentive when we call out to Him. He does hear and He will save. He is concerned about the broken pieces of our life and He delivers from discouragement. Right now, if you feel isolated and alone call a friend or perhaps be the friend who makes the call. Talk about how you are doing and what God is doing to help you through this time. So… How are you doing?

Perspective for Discouragement

3/23/2020

Nehemiah 4:7-23
Problems, we all have them. If we think someone is without problems then we do not know them. The cure for discouragements that distract us from following God is to pray and seek God’s face, see His perspective and follow His plan. In Nehemiah 4 we begin to see the rise of opposition to the work that God has called the people to do. Those that struggled, sacrificed and overcame are the ones that are remembered in history and through the book of Nehemiah. What job has God called you to do? Be faithful and persist even in the difficulties. God will provide all that is needed to accomplish His task.

Three simple action steps practiced by Nehemiah:
1. Pray - address the fear(s) and uncertainties with God
2. Perspective - remember that God is greater than the problem
3. Plan - see what can be done to work toward God’s goals