How to Encourage People Who are Facing Discouragement - Zech 4:6,7
Quote: As much as 77% of everything we think is negative and counterproductive and works against us. People who grow up in an average household hear "No" or are told what they can’t do more than 148,000 times by the time they reach age 18.
Result: Unintentional negative programming that must be overcome or we will become a victim of defeatism. Shad Helmstetter in Homemade, January 1987.
We live in a world filled with discouraging situations, discouraging financial news and discouraged people. Without question, the number one way reason that Christians do not ascend to the highest level of spiritual maturity is discouragement. After, 9/11, 70% of the people in American admit to feeling fearful, apprehensive or discouraged about life. People who are discouraged generally lack confidence, enthusiasm or the conviction to do what is best. Today, many people are easily dissuaded, deterred or detoured from the path God wants them to be on. When people feel disenchanted they are less likely to love, to give or to serve, as they should. Many people get sick and miss work because they feel discouraged. Millions are depressed and need medication for their bouts with depression. More Christians are disengaged from Christian fellowships today because they have somehow given in to feelings of discouragement or have internalized their setbacks and say, "What is the use". The following a few principles that can be distilled from God’s encouraging message to Zerubbabel in Zechariah 4:6,7 where God says,
"This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, ’Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty. What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of God bless it! Go bless it."
1. POWER SOURCE: The Lord will work through us, not by human, but by His supernatural Spirit’s power. God will carry out His work through us by the power of the Holy Spirit who helps us do everything God asks us to do. Stop relying on your own feelings, friends or insights to come up with solutions to your problems. Try spending at least ten minutes every morning getting your power from God’s word before you head out the door. Stop trying to fight the battles with your own strength. The battle is the Lord and He will give the victory over your fear, hurt, or feelings of discouragement. Jesus said, “All power and authority has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” Praise God for His power in you to help you not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with the goodness given to you by the fruits of the Spirit.
2. PILOTING: The Lord wants to direct, guide and lead us in the ways out of the clouds of discouragements. The Lord told Joshua, "Be strong and courageous and act, do not fear or be dismayed for the Lord goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until ALL the work of the house of God is completed." (Josh. 1:7-9) Do not think you have to pilot your way to your destination as the Lord wants to navigate your through all kinds of troubled waters. God told Jeremiah, "I know the plans that I have for you says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for harm, to give you a future and a hope." Look to the Lord’s Spirit continuously to guide you with the still small voice of calm.
Song: "God will make a way when there seems to be no way. He works in ways you cannot see. He will make a way for me. He will be my guide, walking close beside my side. With love and strength for each new day. He will make a way for me."
3. PROVISIONS: So many people are discouraged because they think they do not have enough money, materials or resources. Other people are discouraged because they do not have any close friends. Paul wrote, "He who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. How will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things.” (Rom. 8:32) Whatever you feel lacking in terms of motivation, friends or blessings, the Lord will richly supply you with in abundance if you will simply ask, seek and knock until the doors of blessings are poured out upon you. He is able to deliver you from any and all discouraging people, problems and predicaments.
4. PROVIDENCE: Our Almighty God is a Providential Giver. He provides for our needs with His timely care. The Providential God foresees what we need emotionally, socially, physically and spiritually. His beneficent care supplies us all our needs according to His rich reservoir of resources found in Christ. Jesus. (Phil. 4:19) Trust Him to supply you with whatever you need financially, emotionally or socially.
Illustration: I used to think I really need a wife to be used of God as a missionary. So I prayed and asked the Lord to lead me one who would be a great partner. But whenever, I went on a date, God allowed me to be transformed in to Reverend Geek. The Lord would not give peace, articulation or resonance. After several humiliating attempts, it became manifestly clear that the Lord wanted me to go the mission field as a single man. Many times when I thought I really needed a close human companion the Lord provided for me with a church planting friend or a seminary professor colleague in a way that helped advance the kingdom of God in quantity and quality. He gave me plenty of Timothys, Silases and Epaphridiutes who provided the mutual encouragement that helped sustain me through many evangelism and church planting ministries. It became clear from studying I Cor. 7 that the Lord had given me the gift to be single and I praise God for it as it allowed me to be involved in actively training hundreds of church planters in West Africa. The Lord knew what was best in every situation.
Song: Just when I need Him Jesus is near. Just when I falter, just when I fear. Ready to help me. Ready to cheer. Just when I need Him most. Just when I most. Just when I need Him most. Jesus is near, to comfort and cheer. Just when I need Him most. Trust Him to Providential provide you for you just when you need Him most!
5. PRAYER INTERCESSOR: The Holy Spirit lives to make intercession for you according to the will of God. (Rom. 8:26,27) Many times we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit helps us in our weakness. He intercedes with groans that words cannot express. He searches each heart to find out where they are most discouraged and brings to bear all of the power, perspective and promises of God to your deepest need. Thank Him for being your greatest advocate.
6. PURIFIER: The Spirit has a way of using the discouraging circumstances in our life to help us become a purer Christian. Some Christians get discouraged because they believe that life should be a utopia of happiness, victory and success. As a result of unrealistically high expectations many Christians set themselves up to be discouraged when things do not go their way. Thank God for the way He is using the discouraging times in life to build in us a purer perception of how the Lord wants to make us more like Christ in our personal lives, in our relationships and in our activities. Allow the Lord to make you better rather than bitter from every disappointment.
7. POSITIVE ANSWER FOR EVERY NEGATIVE SITUATION: Whatever negative situation that may be discouraging you the Spirit has a positive response. God told Zerubbabel, "What are you, O might mountain? ... You will become level ground." (Zech 4:7) NO matter what obstacle you may be facing, be it emotional, personal, financial, or work related, God is able to remove all negative obstacles allowing you to overcome it with His mighty power. He will contend for you. Let Him fight the battles for you instead of exhausting yourself in an effort to solve your problems with your own strength and cunning. Instead of focusing on what you do not have personally, relationally or by way of resources know that the Lord’s hand is not so short that He cannot deliver you from any predicament.
8. PROMISER: Regardless of how dark the clouds may appear on your horizon, the Lord’s promises will brighten your outlook. His word is filled with more than 7000 promises that are ready to be claimed in Christ. Paul wrote, "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the Amen is spoken by us to the glory of God." (2 Cor. 1:20)
Illustration; Promises are like assets in the bank that are given to us to use when we are in need. Many Christians are not appropriating or utilizing the riches that are available to them in Christ and the promises of God’s word. In Christ we have the power, the encouragement, the consolation of love, the fellowship of the Spirit, the affection and compassion to make our joy complete. We recently had a couple die that were worth tens of millions of dollars but they live like paupers. They ended waiting until they life was over to let their money do any good. Don’t wait, don’t hesitate. Utilize all the promises of God today and the more you obey the more He will reveal. His resources are inexhaustible.
Illustration: One Senior Pastor that I worked for use to get irritated every time a certain song was sung because he disagreed with its theology. “Every promise in the book is mine. Every chapter, every verse, every line. All the blessings of His love divine. Every promise in the book is mine.” Only when we sang it. Every promise in Christ is mine. IN Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. When we know the truth, the truth sets us free from all kinds of limitations.
9. PROBLEM-SOLVER: Some people think that their problems are too difficult to be solved and so give in to discouragement. All difficulties and opposition that lie in the way will be removed, even those that appear to be unsolvable. God knew that the enemies of the Jews were proud and full of hatred as great mountains. But when the Lord is working in and through you, He will help you find a way when there seems to be no way. He will make the mountains dwindle to nothing more than molehills. Too many Christians tend to make mountains out of molehills instead of allowing the Spirit to help them see their problems as already being reduced to the size where we can overcome them. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with the good of the Holy Spirit’s fruit, power and wisdom already given to you. Believing people expect God to remove mountains and make them into plains. Nothing is too hard for Jesus whose grace is sufficient for any problem.
10. PURPOSE: The Lord’s purposes are greater than our own. He has a perfect objective for your life, your relationships and your activities. Job was able to say at the end of His life after going through many God ordained trials, "Lord, now I know that you can do all things and no purpose of yours can be thwarted." (Job 42:1,2) Let us look to the Lord for His purpose for each day so we do not have get discouraged when things are not apparently going our way. God is able to not only tear down mountains of opposition, but He is able to build what is necessary to succeed. The Lord is in the process of building bridges across the rivers of discouragement we face. Solomon wrote, "The mind of a man plans his ways but the Lord directs His steps. The Lord is able to complete whatever purpose He has for your life. Be like Joseph and allow God’s greater purposes to be carried out in and through your life even though you may not understand them at the time. Joseph was able to say to the brothers that betrayed him in Genesis 50:20, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Joseph refused to become better but got better as a result of surrendering to God’s greater purpose in His life. He was able to triumphantly say to his brothers, "So do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your children. And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them." (Gen. 50:21) May the Lord give you greater grace, kindness and trust in the fact that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts." (Is. 55:8,9)
Song: Got any rivers you think are uncrossable? Got any mountains, you can’t tunnel through? God specializes in things thought impossible. He does the things, others cannot do."
11. PROTECTOR: Do not get discouraged if you are criticized, attack or falsely accused of something. David, who experienced many discouragements, worked through these feelings by praying, "The Lord is my refuge and strength. An ever-present help in the time of trouble. Therefore, we will not fear or be discouraged, though the earth give way and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells." (Psa 42:,1,2) God’s Spirit provides you with the necessary strength, nourishment and whatever you need to be protected from all attacks. Paul wrote, "Take up the sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith where with you can quench all of the fiery darts of the wicked one." (Eph. 6:10-18) Memorize and meditate on God’s word and draw up upon the rivers of living water found in the Spirit to refresh your soul and to protect you from all of the opposition that will come against those in the will of God. Let the arrows of opposition just bounce off of you. Be more like Teflon and let not the greasy stains of trouble soil your reputation.
Illustration: Be like keanu reeves in the Matrix movie. And let those darts just fly on by as you employ the shield of faith so you can withstand all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
11. PERFORMER OF WHAT IS GOOD: The same hand of God who saved you is going to be the same performer who will complete all the good work He has began in you. Paul wrote, "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil. 1:6) God is at work in you both to will and to of His good pleasure - just let go of your discouragements and let Him take control. He is the master architect, the greater orchestrator, and the greatest performer of miracles the world has ever seen. God is a pro-active Lord who is at work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. (Phil. 2:13,14)
Illustration: Give Him your mind, your strength, your future since We have a Biggy Biggy Jesus, as the children would sing in our Nigerian churches. "He’s bigger than all our problems." Remember, God can do a lot with a little. A little is a lot with God. Matt 17:20) If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed you can say to this mountain, be removed and it shall be removed.
12. PRAISE-DIRECTOR: The Lord wants to do great things through you so you can be used to give Him greater glory. Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men that they can see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matt 5:16) As you allow the Spirit of God to use you to encourage others through your love, service and inspiring faith, you will bring greater praise, honor and glory to please the Lord in all respects and bear more fruit through His Spirit’s power. He will use you to be a greater blessing to others if you will give Him greater praise with your lips as well as your life.
Illustration: Let the joy of the Lord be your strength. Sing unto the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things. His right hand and His holy arm has gotten Him the victory.
13. PROPHETIC VOICE: God’s Spirit is able to fulfill all of the prophecies given in the Scripture. Not one word of God’s promises will fail to fulfilled. God’s good will is going to be carried out to completion by the Spirit’s power through those who are willing to be used of God. Jesus said, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached to all nations, and then the end will come." (Matt. 24:14) There shall be full ratification of the prophecies in the Bible to prove God’s mighty power and to demonstrate the truthfulness, reliability and trustworthiness of God’s character. God is not a man that He should lie, has he said and will he not do it? And has He spoken and will He not make it good? Be encouraged to know that the Lord will carry out His prophetic plans just as He said.
Illustration: Its becoming more and more clear that Christ’s return is imminent with the prophecies of Revelation and Daniel being fulfilled before our eyes every day in the news. John wrote, “And now dear children, continue in Him, so that when he appears we may be confident and not be ashamed at His coming.” (I John 2:28)
14. PROMOTER: David wrote, "For promotion does not come from the east or the west of the south. But God is one who sets up one and puts down another." The Lord may allow certain thorns in the flesh to limit you from doing everything you would like to accomplish. Know that His grace is sufficient for every trial. He knows the best times and places to promote us. He realizes that most of us tend to let prosperity go to our head so He tends to keep us in humble positions so we are more likely to depend on Him for our everything. Just wait on the Lord, be of good courage in the mean time and He will strengthen your heart. (Psa. 27:14)
Song’s Quote: "We must wait, wait, wait on the Lord. Wait, wait, and wait on the Lord. Learn our lessons well, in His timing He will tell us what to do, where to go and what to say."
15. PERSUADER: God’s Spirit has the ability to convict, compel and prompt people to do things they never would have thought of doing on their own. Paul wrote, "For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." (2 Cor. 5:14,15) The Holy Spirit has a way of motivating people out of their complacency by convicting about the sins of omission, pessimistic thinking or faulty assumptions about opportunities. Continue to pray that the Lord would work in hearts of people to bring the changes that please Him in all respects.
Illustration: Jim Elliot, the famous martyred missionary to the Auca Indian once wrote about God’s ability to persuade anyone to do His will. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what He cannot lose.
16. PEOPLE INFLUENCER: We can magnify God’s providence since it is always employed for the good of Christ’s church and kingdom. Just as Zerubbabel did his part in building the temple so we should be busy in building up the body of Christ. Do not think that the Lord encourages you just for your own benefit alone. Those who have the plummet in their hands should have a constant recognition of God’s Spirit working in and through and with them to expand His kingdom in quantitative and qualitative measures. God blesses us so we can be a blessing to the whole world.
Illustration: (Phil. 2:1,2) Ask the Lord to help you get around like minded believers who you can encourage, serve and co-labor with in expanding Christ’s kingdom and righteousness. Only when we engage in the ministries of seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness are we able to remain encouraged despite the discouraging circumstances around us. I thank God for the influence that Ralph Winter has had on my life. He has helped me look at the many unreached people groups of the world that are still ripe for harvesting. Heb. 13:7 – says, Remember those who led you who spoke the word of God to you and consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Let us all find multiplying mentors and seek to emulate their faith for God’s greater glory and kingdom’s sake.
Conclusion: HOLY SPIRIT, power of
Author Jamie Buckingham once visited a dam on the Columbia River. He’d always thought that the water spilling over the top provided the power, not realizing that it was just froth, that deep within turbines and generators transformed the power of tons and tons of water to electricity--quietly, without notice, not like the flashy froth on top.
