Unshackled Moments ~ July 26, 2017 ~ The Blessing Of Discouragement

Discouragement happens. All the Pollyanna pretending in the world doesn't protect us when we take the fall and can't move. We're broken and hopeless, and so tired of trying to go on. I can't do this anymore. I'm going to fail anyway, so why not give up, quit trying and get it over with? Or I already fell, and there's no point struggle to get back up, because I'll just fall or get knocked back down again. Sometimes life is hard and rest is rare and hope gets harder to find as our strength and resources dwindle.

But that doesn't have to be the end of the story. These feelings may seem overwhelming, especially since we tend to talk to ourselves in exaggerated generalities when discouragement sets in, and, worse, we tend to believe ourselves because our emotions feel the lie as truth. I'll never be able to do this leads to seeing ourselves fail. The fight will never end becomes a vision of the worst and most tiring spiritual struggle going on constantly in the future, and of course, none of us could endure that. No one cares about what I'm going through turns into despair and God doesn't really care about me. We could go on and on with examples.

But the truth is that sometimes discouraged is exactly where we need to be. It can be a good thing, because it can cause us to discard our illusions and false beliefs and to stop trying to do things we were never able to or meant to do.  The hopelessness of Step 1 is necessary and must be accepted before the hope that comes with Step 2 can be grasped with the desperation of the drowning leading to an honest Step 3. I am powerless. I can't control or even manage my bondage and my life. God can. I surrender to Him. And this state is nothing new. Asaph understood these feelings and wrote of them in Psalm 73. Perhaps you, Dear Reader, are familiar with the following:

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

- Psalm 73:26

Almost half of the English translations of this verse state it like above, with that one word may messing things up and perpetuating the problem. My heart and my flesh may fail. No my friends. Most of the rest of the  translations are more accurate by stating that they do fail. My heart and flesh fail. And a few literally translate the Hebrew into my heart and flesh are consumed or annihilated. I'm done. I have nothing left. I can't because I do not have anything with which to do it. It's not a question of if we are going to fall short of having the power to continue the fight or if we can be victorious. We can't. There is no hope of it. It is not may. It is when.

But God. No two words can combine to create hope more quickly. God is our strength and our provision of resources to continue and to win the war. As long as we hold on to the idea that we should fight against our bondage ourselves or that we should be able to we are setting ourselves up for failure and making ourselves vulnerable to being beaten down by discouragement. We need to even get it out of our heads that we need some help from someone more powerful than us. We don't need some help. God is not a crutch. He is a stretcher. We need help. We can't even limp our way to victory without Him. We are not somewhat dependent on Him, but we are completely and totally dependent.

Instead of giving  up when we feel discouraged and overwhelmed or fighting even harder, let us be quick to surrender the fight completely to the One who fights on our behalf. Sometimes discouragement is a beautiful reminder that we have returned to trying to walk and live the spiritual life on our own strength. But though we give it everything we have until we are exhausted and consumed, we can't overcome on our own. But God. Hallelujah. But God. God is our strength and our portion, meaning He is our provision of all we need to do by His power what we can not do on our own. Do not bewail discouragement, but be grateful for it. Nothing else so quickly teaches us that we must fully surrender to and rely on Daddy for everything we need.

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