A man stopped to watch a Little League baseball game and asked one of the youngsters, “What’s the score?”
“We're losing 18-0,” was the answer.
“Well,” said the man. “I must say you don't look discouraged.”
“Discouraged?” the boy said, puzzled. “Why should we be discouraged? We haven't come to bat yet.” (Stan Toler, God Has Never Failed Me, but He's Sure Scared Me to Death a Few Times, Honor Books, 1995; www.PreachingToday.com)
I like that boy’s attitude. He refuses to be discouraged no matter how bad it gets.
So how can we adopt a similar attitude? How can we keep from getting discouraged in the work God has called us to do? For as we pray for revival and seek to restore God’s reputation in our land, we’re going to face set-backs that can discourage us; we’re going to be tempted to give up at times for various reasons. So How do we keep from growing weary and giving up before we reap the benefits of our labor for the Lord?
Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Nehemiah 4, Nehemiah 4, where we see how Nehemiah battled discouragement in his day. He was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem to restore God’s reputation in the area, and the people were getting discouraged.
Nehemiah 4:10 In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” (ESV)
They started off so enthusiastically. Now, they’re ready to quit. What happened? Well, they simply got tired. Their strength was failing. Literally, their strength was stumbling. It was tottering. It was staggering, getting ready to fall, and that’s what happens when we get tired. We get discouraged.
So, in your work for the Lord, don’t let fatigue get you down. Don’t let busyness overwhelm you so that you lose your strength.
Pastor and author John Ortberg writes: “Not long after moving to Chicago, I called a wise friend to ask for some spiritual direction. I described the pace of life in my current ministry. The church where I serve tends to move at a fast clip. I also told him about our rhythms of family life: we are in the van-driving, soccer-league, piano-lesson, school-orientation-night years. I told him about the present condition of my heart, as best I could discern it. What did I need to do,” Ortberg asked his friend, “to be spiritually healthy?”
Long pause.
Then Ortberg’s friend told him, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”
Another long pause.
“Okay, I've written that one down,” Ortberg told him, a little impatiently. “That's a good one. Now, what else is there?” Ortberg had many things to do, and this was a long-distance call, so he was anxious to cram as many units of spiritual wisdom into the least amount of time possible.
Another long pause.
“There is nothing else,” Ortberg’s friend said. “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”
Then Ortberg writes, “I've concluded that my life and the well-being of the people I serve depends on following his prescription, for hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. Hurry destroys souls. (John Ortberg, “Ruthlessly Eliminate Hurry,” LeadershipJournal.net, 7-4-02; www.PreachingToday.com)
You see, the greatest threat to our spiritual life is not the immoral entertainment industry with its pornography and violence. It is not the militant homosexual community out there. It is not even ISIS or Al Qaeda. No! The greatest threat to our spiritual life is our own busyness. We are going 90 miles an hour in 90 different directions, and then we wonder why we’re exhausted all the time.
My dear friends, we must eliminate the hurry from our lives; or else, we will grow weary and give up. Please, don’t let fatigue get you down.
More than that, don’t let the wrong focus get you down either. Don’t lose sight of the goal. Don’t lose your vision.
That’s what happened to the people in Nehemiah’s day. In verse 10 they were saying, “There is too much rubble.” According to verse 6, they were halfway done! But now all they can see is the garbage, not the gains; all they can see is the problem, not the progress.
Do you know? The hardest part of any task is midway through. Think about the last time you tackled a remodeling project or just your spring cleaning. At the half-way point, the place looked worse than when you started, didn’t it? Trash was everywhere, and it was very easy to think, “I will never get this done.”
Let me tell you: that’s often the way it is in our work for the Lord. We get part way through, and all we can see is the rubble. We get part way through, and we lose sight of the progress.
That happened even to Mother Teresa at various times in her life. In a letter to Archbishop of Calcutta, Henry D'Souza, she wrote that she had been walking the streets of Calcutta searching for a house where she could start her work. At the end of the day, she wrote in her diary, “I wandered the streets the whole day. My feet are aching, and I have not been able to find a home. And I also get the Tempter telling me, ‘Leave all this, go back to the convent from which you came.’”
Well, she eventually found her home, and the rest is history. The Missionaries of Charity feeds 500,000 families a year in Calcutta alone, treats 90,000 leprosy patients annually, and educates 20,000 children every year. (Kevin A. Miller, www. PreachingToday.com)
But it almost didn’t happen; because for a time, Mother Teresa was focused on her aching feet.
Please, in your work for the Lord, 1st, don’t let fatigue get you down – don’t lose your strength; 2nd, don’t let the wrong focus get you down – don’t lose your vision.
And 3rd, don’t let fear get you down either. Don’t let worry and anxiety cause you to lose your confidence. That’s what happened to the people in Nehemiah’s day. In verse 10, they complain, “There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” They had lost their confidence. They’re afraid they can’t complete the task, and they’re afraid of their enemies.
Nehemiah 4:11 And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” (ESV)
Israel’s enemies are planning a surprise attack.
Nehemiah 4:12 At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.” (ESV)
You must return to us! You must return to us! In other words, quit what you’re doing and come home before the enemy attacks and it’s too late. Their fear is about ready to stop them dead in their tracks, and our fear can do the same to us.
Admiral William H. McRaven, a 36-year Navy SEAL veteran, gave the commencement address to the Class of 2014 at the University of Texas in Austin. He titled his talk “10 Lessons to Change the World.” This is one of his lessons:
“Every day during training you were challenged with multiple physical events – long runs, long swims, obstacle courses, hours of calisthenics – something designed to test your mettle. Every event had standards – times you had to meet. If you failed to meet those standards your name was posted on a list and at the end of the day those on the list were invited to – a ‘circus.’
“A circus was two hours of additional calisthenics – designed to wear you down, to break your spirit, to force you to quit. No one wanted a circus. A circus meant that for that day you didn't measure up. A circus meant more fatigue – and more fatigue meant that the following day would be more difficult – and more circuses were likely.
“But at some time during SEAL training, everyone – everyone – made the circus list. But an interesting thing happened to those who were constantly on the list. Over time those students – who did two hours of extra calisthenics – got stronger and stronger. The pain of the circuses built inner strength, built physical resiliency.
The Admiral McRaven concluded his talk with these words: “Life is filled with circuses. You will fail. You will likely fail often. It will be painful. It will be discouraging. At times it will test you to your very core. But if you want to change the world, don't be afraid of the circuses. (Admiral William H. McRaven, “10 Lessons to Help Change the World,” Real Clear Politics, 5-22-14; www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s good advice for all of us: “Don’t be afraid of the circuses.” Don’t be afraid of failure. Don’t be afraid of pain. Don’t be afraid of the enemy.
Don’t let fatigue get you down. Don’t let the wrong focus get you down, and don’t let fear get you down. In other words…
DON’T BE DISCOURAGED.
Don’t let these things cause you to lose heart and quit. Instead…
BE ENCOURAGED TODAY.
Be revived and reinvigorated. Be heartened and find the strength to keep on going.
How? Well 1st, redirect your energies. Take a break, and do something different. Overcome your fatigue with rest. That’s what Nehemiah directed his discouraged people to do.
Nehemiah 4:13 So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. (ESV)
Nehemiah stopped work on the wall and rearranged the workers, putting them in the exposed sections with their families. They had been working so hard, they didn’t have time to spend with their families. Now they’re together so they can protect each other.
It’s a change of pace, and that’s what we need when we get discouraged – a change of pace, time with our families, and rest.
Bernard Lagat, a Kenyan-born citizen of the U.S., is a long-distance runner and a four-time Olympian. He owns seven American records, ranging from the 1,500 to the 5,000 meters and in the 2012 London Olympics he finished fourth in the 5,000 meters. Most recently, at age 39, Lagat ran the fastest time by an American in meet history and took home the men’s 3,000 meter title at the 2014 USA Indoor Championships (www.usatf.org/Athlete-Bios/Bernard-Lagat.aspx)
As you can imagine, Bernard Lagat keeps a rigorous training schedule; but every fall, he does something that is completely foreign to most elite runners around the globe: he takes a five-week break – just like he's done every fall since 1999. According to The New York Times, “He will toss his sneakers into a closet and pig out for five weeks. No running. No sit-ups, no heavy-lifting, except for a fork.” He will also coach his son's soccer team.
Peter Thompson, a longtime running coach says that Lagat's approach is unique. “In the U.S.,” Thompson says, “runners are very obsessive about not letting go of training”, but not Bernard Lagat. He claims that his schedule has been “very effective”. “My runs are very hard," he says. “Everything I do is hard… [But] the body is tired. You're not a machine. Rest is a good thing.” (Scott Cacciola, “The Secret to Running: Not Running,” The New York Times, 12-20-12; www.PreachingToday.com)
Do you know? He is absolutely right! Rest IS a good thing. In fact, regular periods of rest allow us to keep on going long after most people quit.
Jesus himself took frequent breaks during his three years of active ministry. The late Edwin R. Roberts of Princeton Seminary once read through the gospels to discover what Jesus thought about vacations. Do you know? He discovered that Jesus took ten vacations (what he called “periods of retirement”) in three years. Now, these were not long vacations, obviously, but these breaks were in addition to His nightly rest and the Sabbath rest every week. (Ralph G. Turnbull, A Minister’s Obstacles, p.119)
Now, if Jesus needed to take frequent breaks, how much more do we?
You see, Jesus died to set us free not only from our sins, but also from the tyranny of the urgent. In Deuteronomy 5, the God commands His people to take one day off a week, the Sabbath day, because He brought them out of slavery in Egypt “with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm” (Deuteronomy 5:12-15). God had redeemed them. He had set them free, so they no longer had to work as slaves 7 days a week. Now, they could take one day off each week. It must have been music to their ears! But that was only a picture of what Christ did for us on the cross. He too redeemed us. He set us free; and when we take regular breaks, we celebrate the freedom that he purchased for us at so high a price.
I wasted an hour one morning beside a mountain stream,
I seized a cloud from the sky above and fashioned myself a dream,
In the hush of early twilight, far from the haunts of men,
I wasted a summer evening, and fashioned my dream again.
Wasted? Perhaps. Folk say so who never have walked with God,
When lanes are purple with lilacs and yellow with goldenrod.
But I have found strength for my labors in that one short evening hour.
I have found joy and contentment; I have found peace and power.
My dreaming has left me a treasure, a hope that is strong and true.
From wasted hours I have built my life and found my faith anew. (Bible Illustrator)
Be encouraged. Be revived and reinvigorated. How? Well 1st, redirect your energies – overcome your fatigue with rest.
Then 2nd, refocus your vision. Overcome the wrong focus with the right focus. Stop looking at the rubble. Stop looking at the mess, and look to the Lord. That’s what Nehemiah directed his people to do.
Nehemiah 4:14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.” (ESV)
“Remember the Lord!” When you are discouraged, get your eyes off the problem and put them on the Lord, who is bigger than any problem. That’s good advice, not only for God’s people in Nehemiah’s day. It’s good advice for us today. Look to God, not the problem.
During World War I, a British commander was preparing to lead his soldiers back to battle. They'd been on furlough, and it was a cold, rainy, muddy day. Their shoulders sagged because they knew what lay ahead of them: mud, blood, possible death. Nobody talked, nobody sang. It was a heavy time.
As they marched along, the commander looked into a bombed-out church. Back in the church he saw the figure of Christ on the cross. At that moment, something happened to the commander. He remembered the One who suffered, died, and rose again. There was victory, and there was triumph.
As the troops marched along, he shouted out, “Eyes right, march!” Every eye turned to the right, and as the soldiers marched by, they saw Christ on the cross. Something happened to that company of men. Suddenly they saw triumph after suffering, and they took courage. With shoulders straightened, they began to smile as they went. (Gordon Johnson, “Finding Significance in Obscurity,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 82; www.PreachingToday.com)
Hebrews 12 says, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:1-3).
Don’t look at the mess; look to the Master. Don’t look at the problem; look to the Perfecter of your faith. Don’t look at the obstacles; look to the Overcomer!
And be encouraged. Be revived and reinvigorated. How? Well 1st, redirect your energies – overcome your fatigue with rest. 2nd, refocus your vision – overcome the wrong focus with the right focus – Jesus.
And finally, rally together. Overcome anxiety with unity. Don’t go it alone; get some buddies to go with you. That’s what Nehemiah led the people to do in his day.
Nehemiah 4:15 When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. (ESV)
When the threat was over, they all got back to work, but not without some modifications.
Nehemiah 4:16-20 From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.” (ESV)
Nehemiah set up a rallying point, a place for everyone to come together whenever there was trouble. Then they all worked together, ready to defend each other if the need should arise.
Nehemiah 4:21-23 So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out. I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.” So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon at his right hand. (ESV)
Nehemiah set the example, and they all came together to work, ready to fight the enemy if necessary, and that’s what we need to do especially when we’re battling discouragement. We need to come together. Don’t go it alone; instead, blow the trumpet and rally the troops. Get help from God’s people; and together, we will defeat the enemy.
Swimmy was the only black fish in a large school of tiny red fish, who lived happily in the corner of the sea. One day a huge, hungry fish appeared and swallowed all the little red fish in one gulp. Only Swimmy escaped. He swam all alone through the deep sea, until…
Hidden in the dark shade of rocks and weeds, he saw a school of little fish, just like his own.
“Let’s go and swim and play and SEE things!” he said happily.
“We can’t,” said the little red fish. “The big fish will eat us all.”
“But you can’t just lie there,” said Swimmy. “We must THINK of something.” Swimmy thought and thought. Then suddenly he said, “I have it! We are going to swim all together like the biggest fish in the sea!”
He taught them to swim all together, each in his own place; and when they had learned to swim like one giant fish, he said, “I’ll be the eye.”
And so they swam in the cool morning water and in the midday sun and chased the big fish away. (Leo Lionni, Swimmy)
My dear friends, let’s chase away discouragement. How? Well 1st, redirect your energies – overcome fatigue with rest. 2nd, refocus your vision – look to Jesus. And 3rd, rally together. Then “in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).
