Listen, he lost all credibility with many of the preachers there, because that just sounded like it could not be true.
Everyone has to battle some degree of discouragement at some time in life; I MEAN EVERYONE! The Bible tells us that there was none greater born among women than John the Baptist, but he got discouraged.
In Luke 7:19-23, we read, “And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.”
Everyone has to deal with discouragement in life to some degree. Some are discouraged because:
• Their jobs are being threatened
• Their spouse is not treating them right
• Their children have disappointed them
Everyone has to deal with discouragement; none of us have the perfect life!
As we look back in history, we see that people like Martin Luther, the reformer, and C. H. Spurgeon had a difficult time with discouragement.
As we look in the scriptures we see some of the great saints of God had a difficult time with discouragement. Men such as…
• Jeremiah
• Jonah
• David
• Elijah
• Solomon
• Abraham
Everyone has to deal with discouragement, and for a nationally known preacher to say he has never been discouraged a day in his life, seems to be incredulous!
In our text, King David was a great man of God, but he became discouraged. We can see that as we read through the Psalms.
Also, in 1 Samuel 30, that I read earlier, notice, when he and his men came home from battle
• He discovered the whole city had been burned
• He discovered those who had burned the town had kidnapped their wives and children
• He discovered the soldiers who were with him wanted to blame all their trouble on him and they wanted to kill him
All three of these things had to be discouraging to King David.
While the men were grieving over the loss of their family members, he was also grieving over the loss of his family members. HE LOVED HIS WIFE AS MUCH AS THEY LOVED THEIR WIVES!
Illus: He was not like the man whose wife ran off with a highway patrolman. He was going down the road and he looked in his rear view mirror and he saw lights flashing from a patrol car and he sped up.
• The highway patrolman finally caught him and pulled him over and the patrolman said, “You saw my lights flashing, why didn’t you pull over when you saw them?”
• The man said, “I am sorry officer. You see my wife ran off with a highway patrolman several weeks ago, and when I saw the lights flashing I thought it was him trying to catch me so he could give her back to me!”
David loved God and he loved his wife. This had to be a great discouragement to him when he found out they had been taken.
But David was a great man of God. When bad times came into is life, he knew what to do; He knew to trust in God to see him through these difficult times. He actually did three things.
We see . . .
I. HE SHUNNED DISCOURAGEMENT
Discouragement is not a disease; it is a choice we make each day. God does not want us to live a life of discouragement. To be discouraged or not, is a choice.
Some folks choose to be discouraged every day. They do that because they want you to feel sorry for them.
When something bad happens to some folks, they throw a PITY PARTY because they crave people rallying around them saying, “Oh, I FEEL SO SORRY FOR YOU!” This is how they get attention.
Illus: This is how the news media operates. They seem to think that if all they reported was good news, no one would listen to them. They report bad news and report it in such a dramatic way that it causes people to focus on that bad news.
Some people love a life full of bad news because it gets people to focus in on them. But the things that happened to David were not things he concocted for attention; they were dreadful things that actually happened to him.
These three things that happened to David had to be discouraging. The Bible tells us, in verse 6, “DAVID ENCOURAGED HIMSELF IN THE LORD.”
We all have discouraging things happen to us, but we all do not handle them the same way. When those times in our life come, we need to do as David did and SHUN DISCOURAGEMENT.
Do not choose to give in to it; it will destroy all the happiness that god intends for you to have in this life.
So often, people remain in a discouraged state and will not do anything to pull themselves out of this discouragement. They need to do what David did - the Bible tells us that… “DAVID ENCOURAGED HIMSELF IN THE LORD.”
HOW CAN WE ENCOURAGE OURSELVES IN THE LORD? There are many things you can do.
(1) SPEND SOME TIME IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger keeps a picture of his wife and his mother on his desk. His mother has gone to be with the Lord, and he said sometimes he looks at her picture and he would give anything if she could jump out of that picture and he could be with her again.
One day that deep hurt within hit him and he did not head for the medicine cabinet, he went to the Lord in prayer.
He told the Lord, “Lord, I can not talk to her and she can not talk to me. I can not hear her and she can not hear me. But Lord, you can hear her and you can hear me. Will you do me a favor and tell her that I love her and miss her greatly.”
After this prayer, the hurt within him ceased!
When we are discouraged, we can SPEND TIME WITH THE LORD IN PRAYER. How many times children of God find themselves in a state of discouragement, and that old song says it best, “JUST A LITTLE TALK WITH JESUS MAKES IT RIGHT.”
When we get discouraged, one thing we can do is SPEND TIME AT THE FEET OF JESUS and we will be able to defeat discouragement in our life.
(2) SPEND SOME TIME IN THE WORD OF GOD
Do not just read it; apply it to your life in a personal way.
When you read John 3:16, do not just read, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Make it personal! Read it like this, “For God so loved me, that He gave His only begotten Son, that I could have ever lasting life.”
I like to read my Bible:
• The way I like to watch John Wayne movies. When I see him in those movies riding a horse, I see myself. I watch him sometimes and it takes me minutes before I get off that horse and realize I am just watching a John Wayne movie. I make it personal.
• The way I like to watch a wrestling match. I put myself in that wrestling match. I sit on the edge of the seat and I put myself in the match. I make it personal.
When I read my Bible, I like to picture myself in those scriptures and when I am finished reading the scriptures, I AM ENCOURAGED!
(3) SPEND TIME IN THE CHURCH WITH GOD’S PEOPLE
When you are discouraged, the devil will talk you into sitting home and having a PITY PARTY, but that will only make matters worse.
How many times do children of God find themselves in a state of discouragement, but they attend a good church service and they leave as if they do not have a care in this world.
(4) SPEND TIME WITH THE NEEDY
Much of our discouragement has to do with selfishness. All we think about is ourselves, and sometimes these little problems can become big problems because God did not make us to live a life of selfishness.
Many times Christians find themselves discouraged, but they will go to a nursing home to see an old saint of God to cheer him up, and the old saint of God cheers them up.
Many times we think we have trouble and when we see what others are going through, all of a sudden our problems do not seem bad at all.
(5) SPEND TIME WITH A GOOD FRIEND
Notice, I said spend time with a GOOD friend.
• When I say a good friend, I mean someone that you truly love and you know they love you.
• When I say a good friend, I mean someone that is cheerful, not someone that is negative; that when you leave them you have to head for the medicine cabinet.
(6) SPEND TIME LISTENING TO CHEERFUL MUSIC
Some of this country and western music is filled with sadness.
Illus: A boy broke up with his girlfriend at Christmas. She was very sad and she was listening to Elvis sing, “I’ll HAVE A BLUE CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU.” She burst into tears.
• Music can bring joy or sadness in your life
• Music can lift you up but it can also take you down
My favorite singer was Jake Hess. His son would sing with him. I loved to hear them sing before he went to be with the Lord.
I love to hear MUSIC THAT IS PEPPY because often, when people come to church, they feel like they have been drug around the barnyard a few times and they need some music to lift them up.
The Bible does not tell us what David did to encourage himself in the Lord, but it does tell us he did something. Sitting around feeling sorry for yourself does not do you any good. DO SOMETHING TO ENCOURAGE YOURSELF!
We see HE SHUNNED DISCOURAGEMENT and . . .
II. HE SOUGHT ENCOURAGEMENT
David SHUNNED DISCOURAGEMENT but also HE SOUGHT ENCOURAGEMENT. He SOUGHT ENCOURAGEMENT in two ways.
(1) HE SOUGHT THE ENCOURAGER
• Verse 6 tells us, “But David encouraged himself in the Lord His God.”
• Verse 8 tells us, “And David enquired at the Lord…”
When bad times came into his life, David knew two things:
• He knew He could go to the Lord
• He knew The Lord could help him
Isn’t it amazing who people will turn to in times of trouble?
Illus: That is:
• Would you go to a marriage counselor who has been married nine times? Why not? Because you know if he can’t solve his problems, he isn’t going to be able to help you solve your problems.
• Would you go to a financial advisor who has filed for bankruptcy 3 or 4 times? Of course you wouldn’t!
• Would you go to a mechanic that takes his car to another mechanic to get it fixed? Of course you wouldn’t!
There are people who have problems, and they turn for help to people who can’t solve their own problems. How are they going to solve their problems?
Illus: If a fellow can’t swim, he can’t save you!
When David was discouraged, he sought the ENCOURAGER who could truly help him.
One of the first things many folks do when they have problems is call the pastor. When people do this:
• I am glad to take time to listen to them and sometimes it helps to have someone to listen to you.
• I try and share a few scriptures that will help them.
What they should learn to do is what God’s Word tells us, in 1 Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him; FOR HE CARETH FOR YOU.”
I am convinced that the reason some call the preacher when trouble comes into their life is because they CAN SEE THE PASTOR. It requires no faith and they know the pastor cares for them.
I think the reason that many do not call upon God is because they can’t see Him and they are not convinced that God cares for them. You see, the devil has told them for years:
• God does not really care for you. He cares of others but not for you.
• God does not have time for you. He has time for others, but not for you.
They have heard these lies and they have come to believe them.
Notice, the Bible tells us David encouraged Himself in the Lord. He knew the Lord is the great ENCOURAGER and that is where he sought ENCOURAGEMENT.
(2) HE SOUGHT JUSTICE
These Amalekites had burned the city and taken their wives. Should he just pray about this or do something about it? He asked God if he should PURSUE THEM, and God told him to PURSUE THEM.
1 Samuel 30:8, we read, “And David inquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.”
David and his six hundred men pursued these Amalekites, and God gave him the victory over them and they recovered their wives and children.
There are matters in our life that we have to commit to the Lord and leave things in His hands to work them out in God’s due time. If we take matters into our hands, we only make them worse.
But there are things that we can do something about, and God told David to do something about what had happened to him.
We see HE SHUNNED DISCOURAGEMENT, HE SOUGHT ENCOURAGEMENT and . . .
III. HE SHARED ENCOURAGEMENT
Let me ask you something in closing. How would you feel if someone had the cure …
• For Cancer
• For Diabetes
…but they would not share it with anyone. I know how I would feel! I would feel badly toward a person who would do such a thing.
We, who have found the answer to discouragement, have a spiritual obligation to help those who are discouraged. They are truly hurting and they truly would like to find a way out of the pit of discouragement they live in.
From the life of David, we have discovered the answer to discouragement. And now we must be willing to SHARE ENCOURAGEMENT.
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.”
The root word “Comfort” means “Encourage”. We have an obligation to encourage others who are truly hurting.
We have seen how David overcame discouragement.
I. HE SHUNNED DISCOURAGEMENT
II. HE SOUGHT ENCOURAGEMENT
III. HE SHARED ENCOURAGEMENT
