A Dis State of Mind
Scriptures: Numbers 13:1-3; 25-33; 14:1-25; First Samuel 30:1-20
The title of my message this morning is “A Dis State of Mind.” How many of you are familiar with the word “Dis”? All of you have heard this word used as a prefix attached to other words. A prefix is attached to the beginning of a word to modify its meaning. For example, “un” is a prefix meaning “not.” When you add “un” to the word “wrap” it changes the meaning of the word from doing something (wrapping) to undoing what was done (unwrapping). This is the same with the word “Dis.” Dis is a negative prefix. It means not or none. When Dis is added to the beginning of a word, the meaning of the word is now changed to be the opposite of the meaning of the word prior to Dis being added. Let me give you a few examples:
• Appear and Disappear. “The sun appears over the sea in the morning and disappears behind the mountains in the evening.”
• Honest and Dishonest. “Stealing is dishonest. Now be honest and tell the truth, did you take the money?”
• Obey and Disobey. “Children will tend to disobey their parents until they are taught to obey.”
• Agree and Disagree. “It's ok to disagree with your friend. You don't have to agree on everything.”
As you can see, when “Dis” is used as a prefix, it changes the meaning of the word into its opposite. There are well over 1000 words that has “Dis” as a prefix and that my friends is a lot of negativity. This morning we are going to talk about a Dis state of mind. And please note that when we are living in a Dis state of mind we start off in a negative mentality even before we enter any situation. Remember, Dis is a prefix, meaning that it comes before the word. Likewise, when we have a Dis mentality, that mentality exists before our situation and therefore when we enter into a new situation that mentality “colors” our responses to that new situation. Because of this, a Dis state of mind will drain us mentally, emotionally and spiritually if it’s not addressed. To illustrate this mindset we will focus on one of the hundreds of words that have “Dis” as a prefix and that word is Discouragement.
The word discourage is defined as “to prevent something from happening by making it more difficult or unpleasant; to feel less motivated, confident or optimistic.” Discouragement (as it is will many of the other Dis words) is a tool that our enemy uses against us, and get this, that we effectively use against ourselves and others. Contrary to popular belief, Satan is not behind everything that goes wrong in our lives - sometimes we have a couple of hands in the situation also. The fact is when we become discouraged about a situation our views of that situation changes from a potential positive view to one that is negative. We slowly begin to lose our optimism and become more and more pessimistic about the situation. Discouragement acts as the brakes that stops the momentum that we might have in our lives. It tells us that something cannot be done and when we give in to its pull we begin to believe it. When we start to believe it all forward momentum pertaining to that situation comes to a stop because we have become discouraged. And please understand this, some people live in a constant state of discouragement where they expect all things pertaining to them to fail. Things have gone wrong so many times in their life that failure has become their normal. This morning we are going to look at two situations and the differences in their outcomes based on how each group responded to their feelings of discouragement. Turn with me to Numbers chapter thirteen. Let’s start with verse one.
“And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, ‘Send men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall you send a man, every one a leader among them.’ And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.” (Numbers 13:1-3)
God had brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt and brought them to the Promised Land – the land of Canaan. It is believed that the initial trip took less than 2 months, some estimate that it was around 44 days. When they arrived, God told Moses to send out 12 men (one representing each tribe) to search the land of Canaan to prove that it was everything that He had promised. When the men returned, their report was mixed. Let’s pick up the story at verse twenty-five.
“And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, and said, ‘We came unto the land where you sent us, and surely it flows with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless the people are strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.’ The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.’ But the men that went up with him said, ‘We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.’ And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, ‘The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eats up its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, who come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:25-33)
Ten of the men who went to search the land came back with a negative report. In other words, they came back in a “Dis state of mind.” They saw the giants and the vastness of the land and they became afraid. In their fear, they entered a state of dis. Let me describe their fearful reactions utilizing some Dis words so you can see the overall impact. Because of their fear, they became discouraged (hopeless); disappointed (that God brought them to such a place); disbelieving (that they could overcome the inhabitants); discontent (unhappy); discomforted (ill at ease); dissatisfied (frustrated); disillusioned (cynical); disinclined (reluctant to go forth); distrustful (skeptical of God); distressed (troubled); disadvantaged (compared against the giants of the land); disabled (immobilized by fear); disheartened (downcast – no faith); disconsolate (dejected, miserable); disengaged (detached from God); disgraceful (in their response to God); dissuaded (talked others out of going in); disgruntled (resentful of God); disturbed (anxious, worried); disagreeable (nasty towards Moses and those believing they could enter); and many others. In their Dis state of mind they disobeyed God which led to their being disinherited by God. Their Dis state of mind caused them to rebel against God. You know the story, because they feared the inhabitants of Canaan, they disobeyed God and refused to enter the Promised Land. This led to God decreeing that no adult from the age of twenty and up who refused to go into the Promised Land would ever enter in it. They lost their inheritance. They would spend the rest of their lives dying in the wilderness. When we enter into a Dis state of mind it kills our dreams; our hopes; our faith. It does not matter what God has planned for our lives, when that mindset enters into our lives, we see everything through a filter of Dis. And, as you saw in this first example, discouragement opens the door for many more “Dis” to enter into our lives which is why we must deal with it head on when we are facing it.
Let’s move to the second story from the Old Testament where a group experienced discouragement and even entered into a mindset of Dis but because of their leader’s response, their outcome was different. Turn with me to First Samuel chapter thirty. First Samuel 30 is the account of what happened to the city of Ziklag, the home of David, his men and their families. After traveling for three days, as they drew near to Ziklag, they saw black smoke rising from the horizon. Let’s begin reading in verse one. “Then it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire; and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great, without killing anyone, and carried them off and went their way. When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep.” (First Samuel 30:1-4) I can’t image something like this. Think about how shocked, helpless, discouraged and disheartened they must have felt? In one day their families and possessions were stolen and their homes burned to the ground. And they responded much like we would today – they cried until they couldn’t cry anymore. How many of you have had situations like that – that you felt so helpless and so disheartened that you just sat silent wherever you were until the emotions overtook you and you began to cry? It could have been the unexpected loss of a loved one. It could have been the unexpected loss of a job. It could have been the foreclosure on a home. It could have been that you’re drowning in debt and you didn’t see any way out. We all respond differently to unexpected tragedies and misfortunes, but the responses they produce are often the same – tears, anguish, and sometimes, fear. What I want you to understand here is this: when you’re under attack, go ahead and cry. Crying doesn’t mean you don’t have faith. It doesn’t mean that you have stopped trusting God. Faith and trust has nothing to do with your emotions. And don’t forget, our Creator gave us emotions and in times like we see here in this passage, they are going to come out. And that’s okay. We all know that after a “good cry” there is less anxiety and less hopelessness. Let’s continue with verse six.
“Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.” (Verse 6) The men with David were so taken aback by the situation that they turned on him. (Remember the ten spies turning on Moses in their fear?) They turned on their future king. In this verse, we see David’s response to being threatened by his men – he “strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” The word “strengthened” means “to fasten upon.” Instead of looking at the horrible situation – wife, children and possessions stolen; his house burned to the ground; and the threats and frustrations of his men – David fastened his eyes on the One constant he’s always had in life – God and His Word. When I read that, I thought about Hebrews 12:1-2. “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us.” The cloud of witnesses are the men and women in Hebrews 11, who lived by faith and not by their situations or circumstances. The writer is saying we need to follow their examples of trusting God in the face of trials that seem to knock the air right out of us. “Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us.” What is the sin? It’s the sin of not trusting God and believing in His faithfulness as we go through the things in this world. “And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” How are we to run our race? “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfected of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” When we face situations that knock us down, that hit us so hard that we can’t breathe, that we can’t see straight, we need to look to the One who has always been faithful, who has promised us that He’ll never leave us or forsake us. We must look to the One who saved us – Jesus! When we look to Him the Dis state of mind starts to fade.
Now I want you to see what David did. Let’s pick the record up in verse 8. “David inquired of the Lord, saying, ‘Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?’” I really want you to see this New Light. The situation did not paralyze David into doing nothing. It did not paralyze David into grieving so much that he crawled into bed couldn’t get out. It did not make David enter into a Dis state of mind. No. It made him angry enough to want to fight back! Get a hold of that. Satan wants to paralyze us into doing nothing when he strikes. He wants us to fold like a deck of cards. David wasn’t having it. But I don’t want you to miss the most important thing that David did. He didn’t get up and gather the troops and say “Let’s go get ‘em. Let’s go get our wives, our children and our stuff.” No. What David did should be a lesson for all of us when we face unpleasantness. He went to the Lord in prayer and asked Him what he should do. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve faced situations and decided on a course of action without talking to God about it first. Some turned out okay, but they did not turn out the way they could have if I had simply asked my Father “What should I do?” The world we live in applauds independence. Jesus didn’t move without talking to His Father first. That tells me that He applauds dependence on the part of His sons and daughters who are willing to seek their Father’s counsel.
“And He said to him, ‘Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, and you will surely rescue all.’” David asked the Lord if going after Amalekites was the right thing to do. He didn’t make the decision and then ask God to be in agreement with him! How many times have I done that? You don’t need to know! That’s my business. And I’m not going to ask you how many times you’ve done that. That’s your business. But you see my point. New Light, when we’re facing situations where there are no easy answers, we need to fix our eyes on Jesus and ask Him what we should do. Jump down to verse eighteen. “So David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; and rescued his two wives. But nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that they had taken for themselves; David brought it all back. So David captures the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of the other livestock, and they said, ‘This is David’s spoil.’” (verses 18-20) David sought the Lord’s counsel before he went on the offensive. New Light, sometimes it will take us a while to calm down enough to hear the Lord speaking to us. We can’t rush it. Our emotions can convince us that what we want to do is what the Lord is telling us to do. Take a deep breath. We need to take the time to get the Lord’s heart on the matter. It may take a few hours or even a few days. But if we pursue the Lord’s heart, then we will get the wisdom we need to “get through that valley” of Dis in our lives.
James 1:5 says “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God.” What is the wisdom we are to seek from God? Let’s go back to verse 2. “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials…” So we see that we’re asking God for the wisdom we need to successfully get through the trial we’re facing. And look at what happens when we do – “who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” God wants us to come to Him. When we have situations that for others would lead them to a Dis state of mind – God wants us to turn to Him. He wants us to seek His guidance. He’s our Father and it pleases Him when we trust Him enough to talk things over with Him before we act. And I can tell you from experience, it will take a lot of the weight and pressure off of you when you do.
New Light, this story of David teaches us that we never have to give in to our states of dis. Yes we will experience times of discouragement; times of disillusionment; times of discontentment; times of disappointment; times of disheartenment and yes, times when we are disgruntled. This past year we have all felt the sting of change; where some whom we loved became disillusioned and departed from us. While we miss and love them still, there is work to be done. We must ask ourselves “Am I operating in a Dis state of mind?” Are you going through the motions of Dis while you wait to see what God will do next? God can’t do anything that we will not allow Him to do. Remember the definition of discourage? It is “to prevent something from happening by making it more difficult or unpleasant; to feel less motivated, confident or optimistic.” We experience this state but we cannot stay here. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives; let’s make sure we are turning our faces to God. Remember, we can accept our failure the same way we accept our achievement – as part of life. And like David, when those times come, are we going to ask our Father what to do about it or are we just going to act on our own? New Light, this is the way our Father wants us to live in this life. Remember a couple of weeks ago when I talked about the peace that Jesus says He left with us. When we accept that peace, there will be no room for a “continual state of dis.” We might experience moments of Dis, but as soon as the moments come we refocus on our Father. We have work to do. If you are experiencing a Dis state of mind right now, regardless of the cause or the type, God is here for you. We are here for you. We will stand and pray with you because you are not alone.
Each of you received a Dis word list. If you are feeling any of those words right now we are going to pray. We are going before the throne of God in faith that as we yield to Him and ask for wisdom for how to handle our individual circumstances, we will hear from Him in a way that each of us can understand. You are not alone in your circumstances. Say this with me: “Father, I do not live in the state of Dis. I live in your love. I live in your grace. I live in your peace. There is no state of Dis that is greater than these. Whenever I face a state of Dis, I will stop and yield to you because you have promised to never leave me or forsake me.” Come meet me in the center aisle.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. Our service Sunday worship starts at 9 a.m. and Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. Also, for use of our social media, you can find us at newlightchristianfellowship on FB. To get our live stream services, please make sure you “like” and turn on notifications for our page so you can be notified when we are live streaming. We also have a church website and New Light Christian Fellowship YouTube channel for more of our content. We are developing more social media streams so please stand by and we will notify you once those channels are up and running. We look forward to you worshipping with us. May God bless and keep you.)
