DEALING WITH

DISCOURAGEMENT
A problem that we all
face from time to time.
 Introduction
It may not be true of all of us, but for many (if not
most) we have times in our lives when we become
discouraged.
As we strive to serve God things do not always go the
way we wish they would.
People let us down brethren, family members, friends
and prospects; we sometimes fail in our efforts to
overcome sin; sometimes we are dealing with difficult
circumstances such as an unbeliever or one who is
unfaithful; constant criticisms when one is trying to do
good things, at other times we grow anxious or
frustrated because things are not progressing the way
we think they should; and you could add many other
examples.
 We face discouragements.
BUT how do we as Christians deal with them?
In this lesson we are going to notice some things we
can do.
Our approach will be to look at the life of Jesus
 Did Jesus become discouraged?
The question is one that is debated.
Now where are we told in so many words that Jesus
was discouraged?
Isaiah 53:3 describes Jesus, He is despised and rejected
by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was
despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has
borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we
esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
(Isaiah 53:34)
Being a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief
could indicate discouragement at times.
To whatever degree grief and sorrow are related to
discouragement it is possible.
 On the other hand, Cf. Isaiah 42:1-4, another passage that
addresses Jesus (the Messiah) says, A bruised reed He will
not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring
forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till
He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands
shall wait for His law. (Isaiah 42:34, NKJV)
The KJV, NKJV use the word discouraged.
However the word means, one that is crushed or broken.
That is more the result of one who gives in to his
discouragements.
Considering these passages, depending on what we mean by
discouragement (as we understand the word in our language
a feeling of having lost hope or confidence), whether or not
Jesus was actually discouraged is debatable.
 BUT, what is NOT debatable is that He faced MANY occasions
where He could have been discouraged.
John 6:67. After many of His disciples walked with Him no
more because of His teachings, we read, Then Jesus said to
the twelve, Do you also want to go away? Was He
disappointed or discouraged on that occasion?
Luke 9:41, after the transfiguration, the next day a man
approaches Jesus because His disciples were unable to cast
out a demon. Luke 9:41 says, Then Jesus answered and said,
O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with
you and bear with you? Bring your son here.
After all the time His disciples had been with Him, yet they
seemed to not get it.
Continually Jesus dealt with misunderstandings and poor
attitudes of His apostles bickering with one another, fighting
for positions of preeminence, seeking a physical kingdom (like
the Jews were looking for), etc.
 Consider His apprehension in the Garden He prays to
the Father, but then He comes back and finds His
disciples sleeping. Mark 14:34 says, Then He said to
them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.
Stay here and watch.
Shortly thereafter, He would be abandoned by all of
them, Peter would deny Him 3 times, Judas would
betray Him with a kiss, Israel would outright reject Him
and conspire against Him.
They would break so many laws in trying to have Him
cruelly killed including lies, playing politics, twisting
Gods laws, etc.
On the cross, His enemies mock Him and soldiers
gamble for His clothes.
 Matthew 23:37-39 finds Jesus lamenting over
Jerusalem knowing what lies in store for them, O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets
and stones those who are sent to her! How often I
wanted to gather your children together, as a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not
willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say
to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, Blessed is
He who comes in the name of the Lord! (Matthew
23:3739, NKJV)
Consider everything He endured in His life, how could
such things NOT discourage Him?
Being discouraged is not wrong within itself.
It is HOW you deal with it!
 As we have said, whether or not Jesus in His mind
was actually discouraged I cannot say, but I know
that He took steps to ensure that He would NOT be
overcome.
When we face discouragement in this life there are
things we need to do.
AND, those same things that will help us overcome
discouragement, can prevent it from happening.
So let us notice some things that Jesus DID that can
help us deal with discouragement.
Hebrews 12:3 says, For consider Him who endured
such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you
become weary and discouraged in your souls.
 Jesus never gave up
One of the dangers of discouragement is that one
wants to give up.
But we cant.
When we give up, we admit defeat.
Jesus knew He could not give up.
He endured hostilities. He persevered. 1 Peter 2:21-
23, For to this you were called, because Christ also
suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should
follow His steps: Who committed no sin, Nor was
deceit found in His mouth; who, when He was reviled,
did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not
threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges
righteously;
 Jesus had a job to do.
At the age of 12, Luke 2: 49 finds Jesus in the
temple when his parents find Him there. And He
said to them, Why did you seek Me? Did you not
know that I must be about My Fathers business?
Later He would say, I must work the works of Him
who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming
when no one can work. (John 9:4, NKJV)
He kept moving in that direction. IN John 17:4, I
have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the
work which You have given Me to do.
Even on the cross one of His final sayings was, It is
finished. (John 19:30)
 We must remind ourselves that we can never give up.
Galatians 6:9, if we do not lose heart.
The Hebrew writer expressed concerns saying, You have
need of endurance (Hebrews 10:36).
1 Corinthians 15:58, be steadfast, immovable
Matthew 10:22, facing hatred and opposition Jesus said to His
disciples, But he who endures to the end will be saved.
We need patience and longsuffering Romans 2:7, eternal
life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek
for glory, honor, and immortality;
James 5:78, Therefore be patient, brethren, until the
coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious
fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the
early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your
hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
 Jesus taught us to take a wider view
One of the sources of discouragement is that we
dont look out far enough at the results.
Usually, what we are looking at is that which is
immediately in front of us.
It may be a present crisis or a setback in our
efforts.
When that happens, we need to step back and take
a view at the wider picture.
 Jesus tried to get His disciples to see the bigger picture.
John 4:35, Do you not say, There are still four months and
then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your
eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for
harvest! (John 4:35, NKJV)
In John 14:1-3 He said, Do not let your hearts be
troubled
This was followed by a promise of waiting mansions that He
was going to prepare.
In Genesis 50:20 - Joseph speaks to his brothers after the
death of Jacob.
He tells them not to fear. But as for you, you meant evil
against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it
about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
Sometimes, when we endure, later we can look back and see
that our trials and troubles were actually what we needed.
 In 1 Kings 19, Elijah was discouraged when Jezebel
called for his life.
This comes after a spectacular victory against the
prophets of Baal.
Elijah wanted to give up.
While the Lord made arrangements for Elijah, He
told him, that in Israel there were some 7000 who
had not bowed the knee to Baal.
He was NOT alone (even though it felt like he was).
 When Paul was alone in prison and about to die, he
knew the Lord was there with him (2 Timothy 4:17)
When we face discouragement, let us remind
ourselves who is in control!
God is in control -
Romans 8:28, All things work together for good to
those who love God
1 John 4:4, He is greater than he who is in the
world.
1 John 5:4, with faith we can overcome the world.
 Jesus kept busy -
When you face discouragement, one of the worst
things you can do is to just stop and stew on it.
Yet that is what many do when they have been dealt
some set-back.
The longer you dwell on something the deeper into
despair you will sink, it will begin to affect other areas
of your life and thinking, AND in the end that which
caused your discouragement will probably NOT get
changed (because you do nothing).
One way Jesus dealt with rejection, disappointments,
etc. was to get to work.
He kept busy doing what needed to be done (Acts
10:38 He went about doing good).
 When a city rejected Him, He just went to another
one, Luke 4:43, For this purpose I have been sent.
He even instructed His apostles to do the same
things (Matthew 10:11-15).
Again consider John 9:4, I must work the work
There is plenty of work for us to do.
Practice your faith.
Being busy keeps your mind off of troubles AND
quite often, in time, it helps to solve some of them.
The prodigal son didnt stay in the pig pen. (Luke
15:15-19)
 Jesus associated with those who
were with Him
As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of
his friend. (Proverbs 27:17)
When you are discouraged, find someone who can help you
get back on track.
Find someone who cares about you and the Lord and will
encourage you in the right things.
Jesus, after being rejected in John 6:67, note what the
response of His friend Peter was, Lord, to whom shall we
go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to
believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God. (68-69)
Words Jesus needed at that time.
In the Garden as Jesus was about to face rejection, God sent
an angel to comfort Him (Luke 22:43).
 We need each other.
There are few (and that is probably being generous)
who dont need companionship and help in times of
trouble.
Paul needed Timothy and Titus and others. In
2 Corinthians 7:6, Paul was comforted by Titus being
sent to him (as an example).
In Hebrews 12:12-13, we are told Therefore
strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble
knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that
what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be
healed.
1 Thessalonians 5:14 says to comfort the faint-hearted.
That is ONE reason we have provided additional
assemblies throughout the week.
Hebrews 10:24-25
 Jesus prayed
Jesus, the Son of God, spent so much time in
prayer.
That is one of the tools that helped Him resist
discouragement and other troubles He faced.
He prayed early in the morning (Mark 1:35), He
prayed in the evening (Matthew 14:23); He prayed
often (Luke 5:16), He prayed all night (Luke 6:12)
He taught His disciples about prayer. Luke 18:1,
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always
ought to pray and not lose heart,
 When we are facing discouragement or others troubles
we need to pray.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 without ceasing.
Hebrews 4:16, Let us therefore come boldly to the
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need.
James 5:16, Confess your trespasses to one another,
and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The
effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails
much.
Phil. 4:6-7, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by
prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your
requests be made known to God; and the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding, will guard your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
 Conclusion
Other steps could be added to these, but these
are some things Jesus did to avoid/overcome
discouragement.
Becoming discouraged is not wrong.
But how you handle those times is another story.
Will you overcome your discouragements or will
you yield to them?
Let us determine to rule over our emotions and
attitudes.