Fighting Discouragement
Nehemiah chapter 4
Prayer-
Father, today would you allow us to sense your presence. It is what each one of us needs for our lives. In your presence discouragement, anger, loneliness, anxiety, they all leave when they are replaced with your Spirit dwelling in us. Help us today to see you do new and wonderful things in our lives. May we not leave today without you doing something amazing. In Jesus name Amen.
Introduction-
I want to look at what the Bible shows us about discouragement.
We immediately think of depression and that is a form of discouragement.
There are other ways that we also live with discouragement.
Prophet Nehemiah in the book of Nehemiah is proof that God desires to help us when we are depressed and discouraged, when the enemy seems to have taken control of every part of your life.
In the case of Nehemiah, he went before the Lord with fasting and praying for the nation of Israel.
He desired for them to repent of their sins and God would restore them back into a right relationship with Him.
He approaches the King that he would have favor on him and allow him to return and restore what has been destroyed.
“If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city of Judah so I can rebuild it.”
Nehemiah sets off with the blessing of the king, financial backing of the king, letter signed by the king that areas around Jerusalem must give him what is needed to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem.
He goes to the people and tells them of all that is about to happen.
They appear ready to begin the long and dangerous process of rebuilding.
“Come let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and we will no longer bring disgrace. I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me.”
“Let us start rebuilding” so they began this good work.
Question-
Anyone ever seek out the Lord, get direction from him, begin to work a plan, energize the people, only to find out as it begins the negative comes out in people, the devil kicks you in the pants.
You are too far in quit, but not far enough to keep everyone energized and on focus? Yeah me neither!
Nehemiah Chapter 4:1-14 Read from Bible
It does not take long to see here sources for discouragement
Ridicule- (Big source of discouragement)
What do you think you are doing Nehemiah?
The wall will never stand strong and the enemy will attack you and defeat you.
A negative mockery of what you are doing- attempting to destroy what they themselves have no investment in-
“The Bible tells us to love our neighbors and to love our enemies,” said G.K. Chesterton, “probably because they are generally the same people!” That is a true statement right?
We are told to love the people all around us but most of the time, it is those around us that are the ones that are the most challenging in our lives.
In the case of the Jews rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, this was certainly true. In reading Nehemiah chapter 4, we come to find out that the people of Jerusalem are surrounded by hostile enemies on all four sides coming at them from all four directions—it is their neighbors who do their best to discourage them from continuing the work that God has called them to.
There is a good chance that you are discouraged if you find yourself beginning sentences with ”I am the only one doing what is suppose to be done.”
Moses did it
Elijah did it
Nehemiah did it, and you have done it or will do it in your life too.
What is discouragement?
“A loss of confidence or enthusiasm” - when we define it like that, we all have been discouraged.
We have all lost confidence in what we were doing and the energy level of enthusiasm is down to the bottom of the barrel.
How do we fix it? First as a believer, I do not think you fix that by yourself.
I know there are self help groups out there but discouragement is not something you fix by yourself.
1 Peter 4:12- “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”
One way to fix it is to identify it- Identify it and then get good people around you that can help you as you seek the Lord and His direction.
(13) “Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears, and bows. After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your home.”
Identify it, get the right people around you, seek the Lord every step of the way and fight for the things that are important to you.
We have all been there! Some stay there! That is the difference.
What are some of the things that factor in?
Fatigue- “Extreme tiredness resulting from mental or physical exertion.” Exhaustion!
Vince Lombardi/ Former Green Bay Packers Coach observed that “Fatigue makes cowards of us all”
“The strength of the laborers is failing” said the wall builders!
They underwent a project to build that wall in 52 days and the enemy fought them every step of the way and they were tired.
No they were wore out!
Fatigue caught up to them.
They were half way done and the energy level was gone and the enemy was at his strongest.
They hit runner’s wall- sudden fatigue and loss of energy which causes you to shut down.
Every one of us has a level of fatigue that says no farther-
I am done! Cooked, smoked, and eaten.
Been there done it, bought the tee shirt.
I am a type A personality and even I have found as I get older that I have to pace myself.
I enjoy that chair for a nap more than I use to.
The second thing that factors in is Frustration- Fatigue and frustration will work hand in hand to bring you down.
Frustration - “the feeling of being upset or annoyed, especially because of inability to change or achieve something.”
I have to be careful, because of my personality of going and going, high octane… I go till I drop and when fatigue sets in, frustration is not far behind- because I want others to run at that high octane level as well.
“There is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall”
Have you ever worked hard at something and wondered if it was worth it? I know just me.
You have poured your life and soul into the project.
The vision of completing the wall and have a beautiful and finished product was eaten up by the reality that it takes hard work.
Broken bricks, the enemy fighting us every step of the way had replaced the vision with a nightmare.
The wall of Jerusalem had been torched and burned and that vision is what stood in their minds. Not what could be but what it was right now.
My friend Rev. B.W. Hambrick wrote a book on Surviving Burnout years ago. He himself experienced it first hand and he watched other pastors self destruct.
In it he says that it is not hard work that causes burnout but the loss of focus. Fatigue, frustration.
While in burnout, he said that he had to surrender his distorted views and allow God to set him free.
David Jeremiah says there are three ways to live-
Live out
Wear out
Burn out… I think live out would be our best choice. Dr. Jeremiah says burnout is pulling the whole weight uphill by yourself.
I am guessing Frustration then would be thinking that you have to do that all yourself and realizing that you cannot and you cannot change anything about it.
Fear/ last week- “ is what you perceive to be scary.”
(11-12) “Also our enemies said, before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work. Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, where ever you turn, they will attack us.”
Nothing derails us like fear! Fear can paralyze us or energize us- which do you want?
Factors to discouragement- Fatigue, Frustration, and fear-
Responding to Discouragement? How should we respond?
Callout to God
“Hear O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity! Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sins be blotted out from before you; for they have provoked you to anger before the builders.”
You hear that prayer don’t you? Get them Lord! Sic them Lord!
Do bad things to them!
Don’t let them have salvation like I have, don’t forgive them their sins…because they have come against your builders.”
Instead of revenge, instead of heaping hot coals on them- respond as the Lord has responded to us.
Maybe we ought to rethink those prayers-
Maybe for some we should just pray first instead of last-
We make statements like “We have tried everything! Now all we have left is to pray” Maybe look up a little sooner.
Maybe not wait till you are exhausted and have nothing left in the tank.
We do things for the physical tiredness but a lot of times we do nothing for the spiritual tiredness.
There are a lot of spiritually weak Christians fighting battles in their own strength.
Keep doing what you are suppose to do-
“So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for they had a mind to work.”
You want to keep from being discouraged- keep doing what God has called you to do and stay focused.
Have a mind to work instead of a mind to complain-
Small churches would not remain small if the right people to change things wouldn’t give up.
When all others are quitting, the ones doing the work of the Lord in the strength of the Lord are staying focused.
Keep their eyes on the Lord instead of their enemies that want to discourage them.
This goes for everything you are doing in your life. Because we should be bringing all things to the Lord and wanting his approval and blessing and anointing on them.
See the big picture
Erma Bombeck on success
“I speak at college commencements, and I tell everyone that I’m up there and they’re down there- not because of my success but my failures. Then I proceed to spin all of them off- a comedy record album that sold two copies in Beirut, a sitcom that lasted about as long as a doughnut in our house, a broadway play that never saw broadway, book signings where I attracted two people, one who wanted directions to the restroom and one who wanted to buy my desk I was sitting at. You have to tell yourself I am not a failure, I failed at doing something- big difference!
Show the two slides-
1st one- if you only saw a small piece of an elephant you would have the wrong idea of what it was.
2nd one- we only get one small glimpse of an ocean, we would not see it for what it is.
God sees the big picture and is working in areas that we may not be able to see or He does not want us to see at that time-
Closing,
We live in an age of rage behind the wheel of a car.
Broken dreams are shared everyday in conversations around the water fountain.
Fighting inside and outside of families causes even the home to be a place of tension.
Families stretched out with all kinds of dysfunctions- WHAT DO WE DO?
Realize that fatigue, frustration, and fear does not come from the Lord- seek Him out in your life. It is time to stop doing things in your own strength.
It is time to allow the Holy spirit to not only speak to you because then you have an option of wither you are going to listen, but all the Spirit of God to dwell within you and lead you and guide you and empower you. AMEN.
Responding?
Call out to God- spend time with Him! Hear what He is saying.
Keep doing what you are called to do- whatever that is! Discouragement happens when you have given up and settle for something less than what God has for you!
See the big picture- God has this if He is in charge! Nothing catches God by surprise- I am so glad for that. There is a vast ocean out there, don’t settle for the small picture of the rocks- see the whole ocean and if you cannot see the whole ocean- know that the Lord sees it all and trust Him to guide you and be your eyes!
Prayer-
