Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!”
Read Nehemiah 4:1-15. Do you ever feel like you’ve failed when you’re feeling discouraged? When things don’t seem to be going right, when you haven’t achieved what you had planned it can be easy to feel discouraged and to lose confidence.
When the people of Judah looked at the progress they had made in rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls and on the mountain of work still left to do, when they feared attack by their enemies, they began to feel like failures. They thought they’d never get the job done!
So what did Nehemiah do? He reminded them that God was greater than their disappointment! He was more powerful than their feelings of discouragement. God had a plan. And he would ensure the plan was fulfilled.
When you find yourself giving in to self-pity, when you start blaming others for your lack of progress, when you think that what God is asking you to do is impossible then it’s time to refocus on God and who he is, and get moving again.
Don’t give up! Everyone gets discouraged. Everyone makes mistakes. The important thing is to remember who God is and in his power to respond positively to your setbacks.
THINK IT OVER
Think about the following:
How can you reduce the negative thinking that keeps you feeling discouraged?