Ready to Give Up?
Nehemiah 4: 6-14
02/19/06
Every once in a while in life, we all reach a point where we are just ready to throw in the towel and give up. We’re tired, frustrated, and exhausted and feel like there’s no use in continuing to try. Whether it’s a job, a relationship, health related problems, school, trying to lose weight, etc…we sometimes just don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel and had rather just quit the fight. Have you been there before?
Many years ago, there was a man in Kentucky who had recently retired from the postal service. He was sitting on his front porch when his first Social Security check arrived and he looked at it and felt so frustrated. He thinks to himself “Is this all I have to look forward to for the rest of my life?” He’s put in a long and hard career and now has little to show for it. Was it really worth all of that hard work?
So he sat down and made a list of all of his blessings and the good things he had going for him. Included in that list was his mother’s famous recipe for fried chicken which included eleven different herbs and spices. He was the only one who knew that recipe. So he went to a nearby restaurant and asked if he could cook the chicken and they said yes. Pretty soon, it became the most popular item at the restaurant. So he opened his own restaurant and called it Kentucky Fried Chicken and the rest is history. Harland Sanders was tired and frustrated but he refused to give up.
The Franciscans were the first ones to systematically grow grapes in California. They grew the Muscat grapes to make Muscatel wine. One year, they had a terrible drought and the grapes withered on the vine. They thought they were going to lose everything they had and were very disappointed. But some of them took those withered grapes to town and sold them as “Peruvian delicacies”. And that was the beginning of the Sun Maid Raisin company. These Franciscans had a potentially disastrous problem but refused to give up.
There is a terrible health problem running its course through our land and it’s one of the worst illnesses around. It’s a universal disease and it’s highly contagious. If you’re around someone who has it, you can catch it fairly quickly. It’s called the disease of discouragement. Discouragement has been defined as “the feelings of despair in the face of obstacles.” It’s when you’re just tired of giving forth the effort and you’re ready to call it quits.
We’ve all been there before haven’t we? You may even be there now, ready to give up on whatever you’ve been battling with for so long. Kind of like the old song, Home on the Range- “where never is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day.”
This reading in the book of Nehemiah is a great story about both the causes and the cures for discouragement.
Many years earlier in the history of Israel, the walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed and the people were now defenseless and vulnerable to their enemies.
Nehemiah was called by God to lead the people in rebuilding the walls. But it seemed like an impossible task and the moral of the people was low. They were very discouraged and couldn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.
Let’s look at this story and discover their causes of discouragement.
1) Fatigue- v.10 “the strength of the laborers is giving out”. Now there’s a good ole Southern term-they were just “give out”. Ever felt give out? These people had worked hard for a long time and now they were just totally exhausted.
When you are physically tired and worn down, it is almost impossible to be emotionally and spiritually up. So what is the best thing to do when you are fatigued? Get some rest. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is just go to bed and get some sleep. Just to remind you, it is not spiritual to do that at church so you are not excused for nodding during the sermon! Vince Lombardi said “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” Isn’t it amazing how much better things seem to be after a good nights sleep? Fatigue can often lead to discouragement so it is vitally important that we get the proper amount of rest.
Fatigue and discouragement usually occurs when you’re half way through whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish. v. 6 “So we rebuilt the wall til all of it reached half its height.” Everyone has energy at the beginning of a new task, but about half way through, we’re beginning to wonder if we’re gonna make it. When you reach the midpoint of climbing a mountain, you see how far you’ve come and how far you’ve got to go. You are tired and wondering if you should even try to continue. That’s why so many people never finish what they start, because half way there, they are worn out and they give up. Are you worn out and discouraged? Get the rest you need and that will help solve the problem.
2) Frustration-v.10 “there is so much rubble” In trying to rebuild the wall, they discovered that there was litter and debris and trash lying in the way. Broken bricks and mortar were getting in their way and they became frustrated. If you’ve ever remodeled a house or any kind of building, you know the frustration of the rubble that lies in the way. Whether it’s at home or at work or at school, it just seems like the rubble never goes away, does it? You accomplish one task and then there’s another one to be done, and before long you’re feeling frustrated and irritable.
You cannot avoid the rubble but you’ve to be able to recognize it and know what to do with it or you will never reach your goal. Rubble is anything in your life that keeps you from accomplishing your goals. You made New Year’s resolutions but found that the rubble was getting in the way. Perhaps your goal was to read your bible more often but you find that there’s too much noise. Perhaps you wanted to lose weight, but find that there’s too many snacks around the house. You’ve got to be able to recognize the rubble and know what to do with it. What distracts you? What eats away at your productive time? That is your rubble and it will frustrate and discourage you until you do something about it.
3) Failure- v. 10 “we cannot rebuild the wall” They didn’t meet their deadline in finishing the wall, so they got discouraged and were ready to give up because they had failed. Their confidence is shot and they lose heart, they lose their enthusiasm and they give up because they have failed to accomplish their goal. Failure is a major cause of being discouraged. ‘Just about the time I think I’m going to make ends meet, someone moves the ends.’ The question is: how do you respond to failure? How do you respond when you don’t accomplish your goals on time?
Do you blame yourself or blame someone else? People who have learned to win in life, have learned how to get back on the horse after it’s bucked them off. John Wayne said “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.”
Successful people see failures not as an end but as a temporary setback.
The death of Jesus on the cross was not a failure, it was only a 3 day setback.
Never give up when you have failed. “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
4) Fear- v.11 “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.’” Their enemy was doing everything they could to see that the wall would not be rebuilt. They ridiculed them, they criticized them and finally they threatened them. And the Jewish people were discouraged because of their fear of being hurt or even losing their lives. v.12 “wherever you turn, they will attack us.” Fear certainly causes us to be discouraged.
What are your fears today? Fear of failure? Fear of rejection? Fear of health problems? Fear of being criticized? Fear will certainly cause feelings of discouragement in our lives. When your discouraged over fear in your life, the only thing you want to do is pack your bags and leave. The bad thing is that when you leave, fear and discouragement are never far behind you.
So in this story, we see 4 things that can cause us to feel discouraged- Fatigue, Frustration, Failure and Fear. If you’re feeling discouraged today, you can be sure that one of these 4 is a central cause of it.
In this story, we have seen some of the causes of discouragement, now, let’s look at some of the cures for discouragement.
1) Rest your body- When you read this whole chapter, Nehemiah actually gives his people some holidays. He gives them some time off to get the proper rest that they need. As I’ve already mentioned, one of the simplest and best things you can do to help with discouragement is get away and get some rest. It is not a sin of laziness to do this. Jesus often got away by Himself to get the rest that He needed. In our busy schedules, we make the excuse that I don’t have time to rest. Well, if you can’t make time to rest now, you’ll find time to rest in the hospital later on. Psalm 127:2 “In vain, you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat-for He grants sleep to those He loves.” God created your body to work but He also created it to get the rest it needs in order to the do the work that is required. It’s so important that God made it one of the 10 commandments, saying that every 7th day is set aside for rest.
2) Reorganize your life- v.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.” Nehemiah didn’t give up on the goal, he just reorganized the people and put them in their proper places. When you are discouraged, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are doing the wrong thing, it may mean that you’re doing the right thing but in the wrong way. God is not asking you to give up on your dreams, just to go after them in a different way, His way. So that means we have to reorganize and do it in a different way. If you’re in debt-reorganize and do things differently. If you’re wanting to lose some weight, reorganize your eating patterns. If you’re over committed, reorganize you’re time. To beat discouragement doesn’t mean that you give up and quit, simply reorganize and do things differently.
Notice that Nehemiah grouped them by families. That’s why we need each other in our homes and at church. Throughout the bible, we hear the phrase “one another”.
God knows that we need each other to keep from getting discouraged. We’re told to “love one another”, “encourage one another”, “serve one another”, “pray for one another.” We need the support of our families at home and at this church in order to keep from getting discouraged. If you’re feeling discouraged today, reorganize;
make some changes and find support from your family at home and at church.
3) Remember the Lord v.14 “ Don’t be afraid…remember the Lord who is great and awesome.” When feeling discouraged and worn out, you must get reconnected and recharged with God. Yesterday, I put some waffles in my toaster for breakfast and began to wonder why they hadn’t popped out yet? It’s because the toaster wasn’t plugged in, it wasn’t connected to the source. When feeling discouraged, you must get connected to the Source. Typically when we feel discouraged, we’ve got our eyes on the problem and off of the Lord. We need to remember our Source for living in times of discouragement and get reconnected.
a)Remember God’s faithfulness to you in the past
b)Remember His closeness to you in the present
c)Remember His power for you in the future.
When feeling discouraged, get your mind off of the problem on to the Lord and remember who He is and all He’s done for you. The best way to do this is to make time to spend in His word. David said in Psalm 119:25 “I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to your word.”
Over and over again throughout the Bible, God tells us to be encouraged. He assures us of His presence and His faithfulness in all of our discouraging times. But you’ll never know it, unless you read it for yourself. Remember the Lord, get reconnected by studying His word.
4) Resist the discouragement- In v.14, Nehemiah says to fight for your family and home. Don’t give up, don’t roll over and play dead, get in the battle and fight for what’s important to you. Resist the discouragement.
D.L. Moody said “I’ve never known God to use a discouraged person.” Keeping us discouraged is one of Satan’s biggest weapons against us. The bible reminds us that we’re not fighting against those things that are physical but against spiritual forces.
Satan knows that if you and I are discouraged, he’s won the battle because we won’t feel like doing anything godly in our lives.
You must make the choice to resist discouragement and continue to fight. And discouragement is always a choice, not just a feeling. You choose to stay on the ground or get back up on the horse. But know that if you’re on the ground, Satan is satisfied. Resist the discouragement in your life. Fight for your families and homes.
When you exit through the doors of the church today, you must determine what it is that is causing the discouragement in your life. Fatigue? Frustration? Failure? Fear? Once you have discovered it, you must do something about it-Rest, Reorganize, Remember and Reconnect with God, Resist it, reload and keep fighting the battle, but never give up.
But perhaps the most important thing to do when feeling discouraged is simply to pray. David felt discouraged throughout the Psalms and told God how he felt. When’s the last time you told God how you felt? He’s waiting to hear from you.
He doesn’t care whether you’re angry or depressed, frustrated or worried, He just wants to hear from you. Put all your eggs in one basket and then give that basket to God.
Discouraged today? Perhaps it’s time to get reconnected.
