From Discouragement to Hope

This evening, our Sunday Night Church series, Invincible, continues with a special message just for this group tonight.

This is a timely message… and really a message that all people need to hear. But God laid this on my heart specifically for our ministry team… and you are going to play a part in the delivery tonight.

First, I want to make sure we are sitting in groups of at least four or more people. If we need to shuffle around to make this happen, please do so. In a moment, we are going to shift to table discussions and I am hoping for groups of at least four people.

Secondly, we are going to tackle a very important topic we are all aware of: Discouragement.

Discouragement is something we face in life… and it is something we face in ministry.

First off, what is discouragement? How is this word defined?

Discouragement Defined: to deprive of courage or confidence, to be disheartened.

The New Testament uses three different Greek words that all get at the same basic meaning of becoming disheartened, dispirited, and discouraged. Other words we might use to describe this feeling are demoralized, dismayed, distraught, depressed, defeated, and despairing.

Each of these words have their own meaning but they also share many commonalities. Ultimately what I want us to understand is… NO ONE LIKES FEELING THIS WAY.

Discouragement brings us down. Discouragement robs us of what we need to keep going. Discouragement is a battle that happens within. Maybe the cause is an external source, but the place it does the most damage is within our hearts.

Discouragement is like a disease eating away at the hope in a person’s heart. If it persists, it becomes resistant to the encouragement offered by others.

Have you ever encountered this? Maybe you offered a friend some encouragement… a friend that simply did not want to be encouraged. Maybe you’ve been there yourself… in an emotional pit… while someone offered you a rope to escape. All you had to do was grab the rope! But you found yourself unable to.

This happens when we can’t see beyond what we are facing in the moment. This happens… WHEN WE LOSE HOPE. This happens when we lose sight of the purpose behind what we are doing. This happens when we simply go through the motions and forget the motive.

Here’s the deal: When it comes to your personal walk with the Lord and the ministry He has called you to, the enemy would LOVE to move you from a place of hope to a place of discouragement.

The enemy will play on your feelings… on your emotions… he will try to get you focused on the negative instead of the positive. He will get you try to blame others, he will try to make you combative, complacent… he will try to sink you deeper in the pit. Why? Because he knows that an encouraged believer in Christ dangerous to his world of darkness.

Think about it, church: Christ Jesus said we are the light of this world! And we know that darkness can never overcome the light of Christ!

But what if… a person allows for that light to be snuffed out? What if that person gets stuck in the abyss of discouragement… stuck in the pit?

Listen to me clearly tonight: I don’t know where you might be this evening, but God is wanting to set you free from this feeling tonight. But a couple of things have to happen before that freedom can be obtained.

One, you need to identify the source or cause of the discouragement.

There are several causes I want to throw out there tonight for your consideration. Why is it important to call out the source? Because in order to deal with this feeling, we have to get to the root.

Some of us blame surface level causes that are not the cause at all. You might want to blame a coworker or a neighbor but in reality, that relationship never had a chance because of what is harbored inside.

Tonight is not about placing band aides on spiritual flesh wounds… tonight is surgery… going deeper. Because tonight, God want to set hearts free.

Causes of Discouragement.

Unresolved Anger.

The label speaks for itself. This is anger you have harbored. This is anger you refuse to let go of. This is anger that you blame someone for. This is anger that is controlling you.

Here’s the deal: The person at fault for unresolved anger… is the person harboring it. And I get it, you may feel justified. You may feel like you have a good excuse. You may feel like someone else is responsible. But church… YOU are responsible for what you hold within your heart.

I’m not trying to belittle what you’ve been through… don’t make matters worse by holding on to anger that will eat you up from the inside.

Unrealistic Anxiety.

I might label this as unrealistic expectations. We try to push ourselves further than our bodies can go. We try to accomplish more than our minds can handle. And yes… this is a BIG problem in our society today!

We don’t know how to stop. We have ignored God’s example and command of remembering the Sabbath and keeping it holy. We go and go and go and wonder why… we crash.

I’ll be honest to tell you I struggle with this one. My body has experienced significant sudden physical changes in recent years. What used to take me a day to accomplish now takes roughly two days to get completed. I am fighting these new limitations as I recognize I am not what I used to be physically. And the changes keep coming.

But God keeps reminding me that His power is made perfect… in my weakness. Listen, we might be missing out on God’s power working in our lives because we think we have to do it all! We need to trust the Lord and rely on His strength. The JOY of the Lord IS MY STRENGTH!

Unrealistic Aims.

Or even a lack of aims at all. No vision. No purpose. No goals. Feeling like there is no end or completion to the work.

We all know what the daily grind is… and sometimes it begins to grind us down.

We’ve got to remember who we’re living for… who gives us purpose… who has spoken our mission. We need to never lose sight of the call God has placed on our lives.

Unrepented Guilt.

Harboring sin or guilt will destroy a person faster than anything else I know. This results in shame, fear that someone might find out, fear of what God thinks of us. It opens a door for the enemy to bring destruction to our lives.

Jesus didn’t die on the cross so we would continue to carry the weight of our sin and shame and guilt. Our sins were nailed to the cross through Jesus. That old self is crucified in Christ.

If there is something you are harboring that you need to get under the blood, Jesus wants to set you free this evening.

Unrelenting Grief.

Grief is a powerful emotion that can be hard to overcome. There are many things that can cause grief, but the most common is the loss of a friend or a loved one.

Relationships are hard to lose. Why? Because God created us for relationship. So when we lose someone close to us, we feel like we lost a part of ourselves.

Jesus knows grief… and He comforts those who mourn. He wants to comfort you tonight.

Unrestrained Infirmities.

Health problems. And they seem to be on the rise. And it seems like the older we get, the faster and more frequent they come.

We know these bodies will not last forever… but we can become discouraged when they won’t do what they used to do!

We know that there is coming a day when pain, aches, sickness and disease will no longer be a thing… but how we contend with theses things in these days will make a difference in our outlook on life.

Never forget… Jesus is our healer! He will heal us and sustain us. He will help us in our infirmities.

These are some of the common causes of discouragement we might face. It is good for us to identify these causes… but more importantly, we most know who where we can go to overcome.

Tonight is not about calling out the problem… tonight is about reestablishing our hope in the Lord! So while it is important to know the source of our discouragement,

Secondly, we must know the source of our HOPE.

We need to know who to call on when we are feeling down. We need to know what we can do when the feelings of discouragement are trying to overwhelm us.

First, lets look at a familiar story. The walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed. This left the people of Israel in a really bad place.

They were living in ruins. They were reminded of the defeat they had experienced every day.

They were vulnerable to attacks. The walls were a defensive mechanism. Nothing separated the people from the attacks of their enemies.

The people were doing all they could to simply survive. They were living in daily discouragement… but God was not about to leave them there.

Nehemiah comes on the scene and offers… hope: hope through the rebuilding of the walls. He had secured permission from the king and gathered supplies to get it done. Nehemiah took notice of the discouragement… and he did something about it.

But this is something important to remember: Nehemiah didn’t show up and do all the work by himself. The people had to rise up and work to rebuild.

Maybe you’re here and you are waiting for someone to do what only you can do. People can come alongside you and help… but you alone can make the choice to climb out of that pit of discouragement.

The story telling of the rebuilding of the walls offers our points of how we can move from discouragement to hope. And I’m not going to preach those points to you tonight… you guys are going to work through those points together at your table.

Why do it this way? For transparency. For closeness. For the opportunity for you to speak honestly about how you are feeling… and for those around you to offer you hope. The cards on your table have the talking points from Scripture. Take the next several minutes to walk through these points together, then pray together.

Listen, if you had a flat tire on your car, it is not something you can ignore and keep going. It is something you are going to have to stop and address. You cannot ignore discouragement and assume it will magically disappear. God is giving us this opportunity to find hope again.

The goal is to find our hope again in Jesus. So take those cards and let’s rediscover the hope that only Jesus can bring!

CARD POINTS - From Discouragement to Hope

The Continued Source of Discouragement for God’s People.

Read Nehemiah 4:6-12.

As the walls were going up, the people’s hope began to go down. We are given multiple reasons for the discouragement they felt.

The strength of the laborers was giving out.

There was too much rubble.

Their enemies were making threats.

Fear began to grip their hearts.

Pastor Chris highlighted some reasons for discouragement in the message tonight. If you are wrestling with discouragement, have you identified the source? Do you know where this discouragement originates?

If yes, with a few words, share with the group that source tonight.

Examples might include family issues, financial stress, health problems, etc.

Nehemiah recognized the discouragement and took action. These action points show us a path back to the hope we have in the Lord.

Find Encouragement in Family.

Read Nehemiah:13.

Nehemiah grouped the workers together by families as the work on the wall continued. Some were posted in the “exposed places” while others did the work.

Why is it important for us to gather with those we are closest to when feeling discouraged?

The church is the family of God, the body of Christ. What steps should we take when we see a brother or sister struggling with discouragement? How can we stand with them?

Remember God is on Your Side.

Read Nehemiah 4:14.

Nehemiah reassured the people of God that the Lord was with them. He called them to remember the Lord. Reading the Word of God is one of the best ways to remember how great and awesome our God is.

Having a memorized go-to verse can be an incredible source of encouragement as we face difficult times. Do you have a go-to verse you would like to share with the group?

How did you land on that verse as your go-to verse?

Do the Work God Has Given You.

Read Nehemiah 4:15-18.

God was certainly on the side of the Israelites who were working on the wall. The threats against their lives were real. They were facing very real danger as they carried out the work.

We know that there is a very real enemy trying to discourage us in the work God has called us to do.

What steps can we take to make sure we are able to stand and resist the attacks of the enemy?

What spiritual disciplines can we exercise that will help us as we complete the work God has called us to do?

Find HOPE in God.

Discouragement is a feeling that will rob us of strength. But God offers us joy… something that is more than a feeling.

After the walls were rebuilt, the Word was read to the people. Nehemiah encouraged the people to find joy as the day was holy unto the Lord. He finished by saying in Nehemiah 8:10, “The Joy of the Lord is your strength.”

God desires to turn your discouragement into joy through His holy Word. His Word is a source of hope that is unshakable.

In what ways are you making time to spend in the Word of God on a regular basis?

Pray for God to encourage us with His presence and Word.