1 Corinthians 2:9
But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”
discouragement
Hope When You Feel Like You’re Failing
Do you ever feel as though you haven’t accomplished much in life, and many promises are unfulfilled? If so, you’re in good company; in fact, you are standing among spiritual giants.
Many great servants of God throughout history ended up feeling that they failed in their calling. The prophet Elijah looked at his life and cried, “Lord, take me home! I’m no better than my fathers, and all of them failed you. Please, take my life! Everything has been in vain” (see 1 Kings 19:4).
Lifted Out of the Pit
Discouragement is the devil’s most devastating tool in his attacks on Spirit-hungry saints. It has always been the enemy’s weapon of choice against God’s elect, and from the day you became serious about the things of God — determining in your heart to know Christ in his fullness — Satan has sought to discourage you. He has watched you dig deeper into God’s Word every day. He has seen you growing, changing, overcoming all worldliness, and he has made you a heavy target.
The Spirit of Discouragement
When King David was in a time of discouragement and struggle, he cried out: “I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long … I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart … My heart pants, my strength fails me; as for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me” (Psalm 38:6, 8, 10).
Discouraged at Our Own Hearts
Are you tired of living in need when everything you will ever require has been provided? Perhaps your focus is wrong. You tend to dwell on your weaknesses, temptations and past failures — and when you look inside your own heart, what you see discourages you.
Don't Let Discouragement Take Your Strength
Discouragement can be debilitating. We can get so despondent that we will begin to doubt the existence of God. God will allow seasons of discouragement when:
I Can't Go On One More Day
Are you at your wits end? Do you find it hard to go on one more day? God knows what we need better than we know what we need. When we’re in charge of our own prayer requests we may be scripting our demise. Things go really bad when God lets us be god to our self. God answers like a father, not a Genie. Most of our prayer requests are telling god how we want Him to answer us, since God is our Father He does what’s right and best for us.
The Theological Error of "WhatHowWhen"
Discouragement comes when we begin to lose courage on our forward journey. Sometimes the journey we have crafted for our future is partly true and partly fiction. We fall into the theological error of “WhatHowWhen” when we know what God has promised us but we want to tell him “how” and “when” to do it. In the midst of all our discouragement Jesus still comes and reminds us that He will never leave us of forsake us. Be encouraged, the plan that God decreed for your life is still unfolding and it will happen in God’s time and in His way.