Now listen, I do not wish to be unkind, but I truly believe this man is being less than truthful to the thousands of people he was addressing.
WHY DON’T I BELIEVE HIM?
Some of the greatest men who ever walked on this earth have become discouraged from time to time. For example, the Bible reveals such men as:
(1) JOHN THE BAPTIST got discouraged.
In fact, John got so discouraged that the Lord had to send a disciple to prison to encourage him.
We must not forget that the Lord said of John the Baptist, that there was none greater born among women. Now if John the Baptist is one of the greatest men who ever lived, and he got discouraged, then it should not surprise us that normal people likes us get discouraged from time to time.
This preacher who said he never got discouraged is in essence saying that he is greater than John The Baptist, because he never gets discouraged. I DO NOT THINK SO!
(2) ELIJAH THE PROPHET got very discouraged.
Many believe from the symptoms that Elijah displayed after he faced the prophets of Baal, that he came close to having a nervous break down.
(3) And most of us would rank King David as one of the greatest men who walked on this earth. The Bible says he was a man after God’s own heart, but yet he got very discouraged.
For example, look at David in our text. He had just returned to the place where his home had been, after a tiring trip, only to discover:
• The whole city had been burned
• All the wives and children had been captured by the Amalekites
David and his men were exhausted. But notice, the devil always makes his most vicious attacks on us when we are at our weakest.
This was a very discouraging moment for king David, because he had double trouble.
• Not only was he worn out from the trip and the fighting.
• Not only had the enemy kidnapped those dearest to him.
• His life was being threatened by his own men for something he did not do.
Look at verse 6. "And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters. . . "
They were blaming him for the loss of their families. It seems as if they did not think he felt any loss, but that was where they were wrong. David loved his family as much as they loved their families.
Illus: David was not like the man whose wife ran away with his best friend. This man was grieving and was visibly shaken, so a friend asked, "What is wrong with you?" He explained that his wife had just run off with his best friend, and then he exclaimed, AND I AM REALLY GOING TO MISS HIM!
David loved his wife, and when he returned home his heart was broken like all the rest of them.
But he was being blamed for the whole situation that the Amlekites had caused. This is a very discouraging moment in his life. He was suffering:
• From the accusation of his men
• Because his life was being threatened
• The loss of his family
I doubt if very many of us have ever suffered the way he was suffering. But David was a great man of God.
WHY DO WE SAY HE WAS A GREAT MAN OF GOD?
In his life you see a man who trusted God during the GOOD TIMES and the BAD TIMES.
Anyone can SMILE, LAUGH, and PRAISE THE LORD when things are going great, but only a great man of God can do such a thing when he is facing the storms of life.
David knew what to do when the storms of life came. Look at verse 6b. We read, "...But David encouraged himself in the lord his God.”
Listen, it is nice when we are discouraged to have a friend or loved one put their arm around our shoulder and encourage us. But there are times when we face the storms of life, and there is no one to encourage us, and we have to do what David did, HE ENCOURAGED HIMSELF IN THE LORD.
HOW DID HE DO THIS?
Let’s consider TWO things. When it comes to overcoming discouragement in our life -
I. WE SHOULD SHUN IT
SOMEONE MIGHT BE SAYING, “PREACHER, WHAT DO YOU MEAN, WE SHOULD SHUN IT?”
What I mean is this. Some people PURSUE DISCOURAGEMENT LIKE A RABBIT DOG CHASING A RABBIT, but we should SHUN IT.
• Have you noticed some people seem to never be discouraged?
• On the other hand, some people seem to be always discouraged.
DO YOU KNOW WHY THEY ARE THIS WAY?
They do not try to SHUN DISCOURAGEMENT, they look for things to have a pity party over. They do not leave a stone unturned in their efforts to find something to be discouraged about.
Illus: Some people make you think of the little child who had his lips poked out, and his mom was trying to encourage him, and he said, “It’s no use mom, I am not going to let you make me smile!”
The reason some people cannot overcome discouragement in their lives, is because THEY DO NOT WANT TO OVERCOME IT. They enjoy living a life of misery, and if they can, they also enjoy making the lives of others as miserable as they can.
Listen, there are things in our lives that are so small and insignificant that they are not worth losing a good night’s sleep over. But there are people in our churches who are always looking for something to make them discouraged and miserable.
Listen, you do not have to look for things to get discouraged about, THOSE THINGS WILL FIND YOU!
Illus: This reminds me of the story of the young man who became very discouraged because his girl friend had dumped him. She refused to see him or even talk to him on the phone, so he began to write her letters each day. He faithfully wrote to her every day for SIXTY-FIVE DAYS straight. He finally stopped when he discovered she had married the mailman.
There are Christians who do not know the first thing about how to live above discouragement.
THEY SHOULD SHUN IT, but instead they PURSUE IT.
Illus: Have you ever noticed that most towns of any size have a section called the slums? If you ever spent any time in a slum, you probably found it to be an eye-opening experience. We wonder how people can live like that when they have the option to do better for themselves!
Men who are a lot smarter than us have pondered that same question, while the fact remains, they do. And what is sad is that their children after them will probably live the same way - it is their way of life.
This is the way it is with some folks when it comes to discouragement. They do not have to live like that, but they choose to live like that.
As we work our way through this life, we should do all we can to SHUN DISCOURAGEMENT, not run after it.
In our text, David was not looking for something to have a pity party over, he had a major problem that could not be avoided. But he knew that when you cannot SHUN IT, their are times when you have to deal with it, and the Bible says he ENCOURAGED HIMSELF IN THE LORD.
No one came along to ENCOURAGE HIM, he had to ENCOURAGE HIMSELF.
When it comes to discouragement, the best thing we can do with it, is to SHUN IT - IF POSSIBLE!
But also-
II. WE SHOULD SHARE IT
We should share it with the Lord.
Look at 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. We read, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
Notice, in these verses of scripture the Bible tells us that God is a God of comfort. God would never do anything to discourage you. He is a God of comfort.
Many times people go through difficult times mentally. They are being bombarded by thoughts:
• No one loves them
• No one cares if they live or die
• Not even God really cares that much about them
But listen, when these kind of thoughts come our way, they are not from God, but from Satan. God is a God of comfort!
David was going through some difficult times, and while he was down the devil wanted to take full advantage of him and beat him down further.
But David was a man that knew God, and who had strong faith in God. And he turned to the GOD OF COMFORT to find the encouragement that he needed.
• In order to overcome discouragement, it is essential that you discover that God is a God of comfort.
• It is essential that you come to know that God cares for you.
Look at 1 Peter 5:7. We read, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
Look at the word “casting”. This means we are to take everything we are facing, and cast it all upon the Lord.
In other words we should bundle the discouraging things in our lives all up together, and say, “Lord, you asked for it, you got it!
Illus: This verse of scripture reminds us of the time some men brought a woman to Jesus and said, "Master, we caught this woman in the very act of adultery; should we stone her as the law of Moses commands us to do?”
Have you noticed that every generation has had those who wanted to cast stones at someone else?
This woman stood before these people who condemned her. THIS HAD TO BE THE MOST DISCOURAGING MOMENT OF HER LIFE!
But Jesus taught this crowd that they had better be careful about casting stones.
HOW DID HE DO THIS?
He said, “He that is without sin, let him cast the first stone.”
Did you know there was not a man or woman in that crowd, when it was presented to them like this, who could throw one stone at her? NOT ONE! One by one they began to walk away.
She lay on the ground with her hands over her face, probably thinking that any minute the stones would begin to pound her body until there was no life left in her.
But as she lay there, this noisy mob began to walk away. And possibly when it was completely silent, she looked up into the face of the Lord, and he said, "Where are your accusers?” She looked around and saw no one left to stone her, and Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more.”
Do you know why the Lord responded the way He did to her? Because He is a God of comfort who cares for us. When everyone else is wanting to accuse us and hurt us, He is there to help us. When everyone else has forsaken us, He is there to comfort us.
David, had no one to encourage him. But the Bible says this great man of God did something that sometimes we have to do. HE ENCOURAGED HIMSELF IN THE LORD.
Conclusion:
We have people all over this nation that are running back and forth to their counselors and psychologists, and they are not getting better, they are getting worse.
They are like the woman in Mark 5:25-30, that had the issue of blood, who saw many physicians but continued to get worse. Why? Because there are things in this life that only the GOD OF COMFORT can help us with.
We can spend thousands of dollars and waste our lives looking to mankind for help, but we will never find it until we come to the Lord Jesus Christ, the one WHO CAN HELP US!
When David had NO ONE, the Bible says he turned to the GOD OF COMFORT and encouraged himself in the Lord.
This is exactly what some of you need to do with the problems you are facing.
Illus: Nat King Cole used to sing that song, “I found the answer, I learned to pray!” Have you found the answer? Then spend some time at the feet of Jesus this week, and watch those things in your life that have greatly discouraged you begin to come into right perspective, as you talk to the God of Comfort, who is bigger than all of your problems put together.
That woman was going through one of the most discouraging times in her life. But when she came to the Savior, who told us to cast all our cares upon Him because HE CARES FOR US, she left that place with joy in her heart.
One of the reasons we have so many discouraged Christians around today, is because they are not spending enough time at the feet of Jesus.
When it comes to discouragement:
I. WE SHOULD SHUN IT (If Possible)
II. WE SHOULD SHARE IT (With The Savior)
