Perspectives

Nehemiah 4:6; 10 …6) So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.   10) Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”

Ever get discouraged, depressed, or you just feel plain miserable? Sure you have! Discouragement rears its ugly head in every corner of the world, even among Christian folks. It doesn’t matter if we have a lot of faith or no faith at all.

It doesn’t matter whether we have a lot of money or no money. It doesn’t matter what part of the world we come from; none of us are off the hook with this one, and it will come to us one of these days. But Christians can have the upper hand. Faith in Christ and “much-much time-out for prayer.” can drive this dreaded monster back to where it came from. I know it can work, because I’ve done it many times. However, I mustn’t be fooled, discouragement can come back, and I know it’s transmittable; therefore, I must seek the help of the Holy Spirit to help me live a victorious life, and not influence others in a negative way.

Tiredness, weariness and frustrations …just plain overtiredness creates the perfect condition for discouragement.

When we wear ourselves out, when we are physically drained, it is so easy to get into that snap, crackle and pop kind of mood. When we reach this level of exhaustion, if at all possible, sit down and count your many blessings and say a silent prayer for strength and civility. Hey!! A good cup of coffee will do you a world of good at this moment.

Did you notice that when you were about halfway finished with your project you started to get into this snap, crackle and pop kind of mood? Yep! We’re halfway done and we wonder why we started or became involved with this work in the first place. At first we were all up in the air about our new work in the church or office or home or wherever, and then boredom crept into our thinker, and before we knew it, BANG, we’re down in the dumps and we become discouraged.

Frustration or annoyances has many manifestations:  Let me take you back a few years. In 2005 we were trying to seed grass. We had nineteen loads of top soil on our yard (were the grass was to be seeded) waiting for the guy to come with his Bob-Cat to do the levelling. That year we had a lot of rain and, we just couldn’t do a thing. It was too wet to move the top soil around so that we could get it ready for seeding. That meant we had no grass, just lots of weeds, and good healthy looking weeds at that. The weeds didn’t have to fight with the grass for space; they kept spreading so that our yard looked like a weed farm. There I was pulling weeds, but the more I pulled, the better they grew. Now, I’m getting ready to blow-up the whole yard. Then a little light went on in me wee brain; I went and bought myself a backpack sprayer, some Round-Up, and I did what any normal person would have done. Me and that sprayer went to work spraying the whole yard and guess what? My little weed farm began to change; all those healthy weeds started looking pretty unhappy. Those weeds were hanging their heads and getting ready to say good-by. But here I was, getting ready to blow my top and allow discouragement to ruin my day.

When we are at the breaking point; whether the cause is the weeds in our garden or in our heart, we need to remember what Scripture teaches: This is what the Lord says to us, “We should not be afraid or discouraged about all that is happening to us. For this battle is not really ours, but God’s. We’re in a Spiritual battle. We’re engaged in a supernatural war. Satan and his host of demonic spirits are bent on making life as miserable as possible for you and me. There comes a time when we need to slow down and take the time to communicate with God in prayer so that His Spirit, “the Holy Spirit,” can communicate with our spirit and return the joy we had before we started our new assignment. Take time to be holy …speak often with the Lord. When we do that, life will again return to normal.

Would you pray this prayer with me …“Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive my sins. I want my life to change. My thoughts and my attitude need to change. I don’t have peace in my heart, I really want that peace, joy and happiness that I long for. Please let the Holy Spirit help me be the kind of Christian that will bring honour to Your Name.” Amen