Are You Discouraged

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”  –  Joshua 1:9 (NIV). 

The Bible has a lot to say about discouragement. Many great men and women in the Bible had to deal with discouragement such as Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and Nehemiah. One of the great examples is found in the life of Nehemiah. Nehemiah sets out to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and faces increasing opposition. It is halfway through the project that the enemies intensify their opposition and discouragement hits the people.

Most people will be discouraged from time to time. Sometimes we get discouraged because of past regrets, and sometimes we get discouraged because God has not answered our prayers and cries for help, when and the way we want Him to. We get discouraged when we put too much trust in people and expect them to do what we want them to do.  Sometimes this discouragement feeds frustration and fear about the future.

When we get discouraged, we have a tendency to mimic a turtle and retract our heads safely inside shield-like shells. But that is not the answer. The story of Nehemiah gives us some ways to deal with discouragement.  First look up rather than look around for answers. It should be the first thing that we do instead of the last thing we often do. Nehemiah 4:9 says, “But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.”

Second, continue doing what God gives you to do. Nehemiah 4:6 says, “At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm.” It is easy to pause or stop when we are discouraged, but Nehemiah wouldn’t let his enemies distract him from his work. Nehemiah would keep on working. The time you feel like doing it the least is the time when you need to do it the most.  

Third, concentrate on the big picture. Because people were working on little sections of the wall, it was hard to get any perspective. When you can only see what is going on in your life, it is easy to be discouraged. Nehemiah rallied them around so that they saw the bigger picture. We can lose sight of God’s purposes and we get out of perspective if we forget that God has control of our piece of the wall and the bigger picture. 

And last, remember God’s promises. Nehemiah 4:15 says, “When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall.” There are times when you need to get your Bible out and start reading it. Find scripture that encourages you in the Lord. Find out what God says about any given situation. “The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.” (Psalms 34:17-19)

Discussion Questions:

  1. Have you ever become discouraged in some aspect of your life and thought about quitting? Think back on what made it so discouraging and how you dealt with it at the time.
  2. How can the story of Nehemiah help you deal with discouragement this week? 

Good Advice Can Come From The Most Unlikely Sources

“This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed. “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself. Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him. Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives. — Exodus 18:17-20  

What do you picture when you picture a mentor?

Most people picture someone with a couple of decades of experience and success that calls you into their spacious corner office for a chat over some tea and scones. After exchanging some pleasantries, the person asks me about my “passions” and where we see ourselves in ten years. Certainly, the mentor experience can be like that. But just as often, very good advice can come from peers, or someone you meet while riding on the bus. Sometimes, sage advice can come from a very unlikely source. The Bible has a relatively unknown story of a father-in-law who made a suggestion that made a difference. 

Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, learned of the miraculous rescue of Moses and the Israelites so he traveled to their camp. While he was visiting, he observed Moses sitting on the judgment seat deciding on disputes between the people. It was a very important responsibility. And who better to do it than their leader, Moses? It seemed the right thing to do, but was it? Jethro told Moses that what he was doing was not right. He told Moses that he couldn’t be the judge of the land and be their leader at the same time. Moses’ call was to be the people’s representative before God and the messenger from God to the people. Exodus 18:13-27 describes Jethro’s wise suggestion for Moses to delegate this responsibility to others..

Jethro said to Moses, “If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.” (Exodus 18:23). Jethro offered his wisdom to Moses in love. He wanted to help Moses avoid the burnout of trying to do all the leadership himself. Moses, thankfully, had a teachable spirit. He could have ­ignored his father-in-law’s wisdom and continued down the path toward exhaustion, but Moses chose instead to follow Jethro’s advice. He could have received this as criticism of his work, but instead Moses heard it as a gift from a mentor.

Sometimes we become irritated when people offer unsolicited advice. “Who are they to tell me what to do?” But God calls us to care about the people around us. Sometimes caring means shar­ing our wisdom, and other times it means being willing to be taught. We can benefit from the wisdom of others, even when it comes from the most unlikely source.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received from someone? How did it impact you?
  2. How sustainable is the pace you’re living? Would a wise, loving advisor say, “This is not good” to you? Speaking of advisors, who is yours? Do you have someone in your life that plays the role of a Jethro? 

Rebuilding Our Walls

“So on October 2 the wall was finished—just fifty-two days after we had begun.” – Nehemiah 6:15.   

After Hurricane Michael, many homeowners were faced with the decision to rebuild or start from scratch. Rebuilds are generally much bigger projects so starting over would often be the most economical choice. But sometimes starting over is not an option. Rebuilding the city wall in Biblical times would be a monumental undertaking; they had to first deal with twisted metal from the old gates, burned timber, shattered masonry and other various types of debris had to be cleared. Then the ground had to be leveled and cleaned. It probably would have been far easier to start from scratch.

There are times in our life when we wish we could start over, but are faced instead with rebuilding or remodeling parts of our spiritual life from the foundation that already exists. We may be in a similar place as the Israelites, needing to rebuild a part of our lives. You may need to rebuild a marriage or other relationship that has fallen into disrepair. You may need to rebuild some areas of your spiritual life or restore your connection with God. You may need to either live with your spiritual condition as it is or slowly rebuild that area of your life, one brick at a time.

Nehemiah set out to achieve what God had put on his heart, then he followed through with the hard work to get it done.  Even though the project seemed imposing, impractical and nearly impossible, God helped Nehemiah all along the way.  God provided Nehemiah with the wisdom, resources, strength, and people to pull it off. Nehemiah followed a series of practical steps to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, steps which you can follow to rebuild the things in your own life that need rebuilding.  It involved much prayer, much planning, many people and a fair amount of hard work. 

So what can we learn from the story of Nehemiah that can help us when we need to undertake a rebuilding effort?  Perhaps the best takeaway from the Nehemiah story is pretty straight forward.  Read the directions. Pull out a copy of God’s Word and do what it says.  The same directions that helped you to build and maintain the good things you have built to date, will help you rebuild.  

This is exactly what Nehemiah did when they finished rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem.  Nehemiah assembled all the people in one place and had Ezra the scribe, along with the Levites, read and explain God’s Word to the people. Nehemiah 8:8 says, “They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage.” The same God who helped Nehemiah will help you in your rebuilding project.  

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think it is easier to rebuild or start over when rebuilding spiritual walls in our life? 
  2. What can we do this week to start any needed rebuilding efforts? 

Who were Sanballat, Tobiah And Geshem?

Sanballat and Tobiah

Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?” Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!” – Nehemiah 4:1-3.

Nehemiah Rebuilding the Wall

Nehemiah traveled hundreds of miles to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. This was important work, as the wall was Jerusalem’s first line of defense. But Nehemiah’s restoration work did not go unopposed.  

His first enemies are introduced in Nehemiah 2:19a, “But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed contemptuously…” This threesome was joined by more people: the Arabs, Ammonites and the people of Ashdod. Nehemiah’s progress on rebuilding the wall has made them “furious. “(Nehemiah 4:7) They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion. (Nehemiah 4:8).

Sanballat in Your Life Today

Do you have a Sanballat in your life? Well, probably not literally, but perhaps figuratively. If we have a Sanballat in our life today, he or she wants to stifle our spiritual growth. Sanballat wants to make it look like the job is impossible; in other words create doubt. And Sanballat wants to rally opposition against what you are trying to do. Just like he did to Nehemiah. The spirit of Sanballat’s goal is to discourage you—to get you to quit what God has called you to do. The goal is to tear down—not build up—the wall God is calling you to build. Sanballat can take the form of discouragement, fatigue and fear. These are a few of the enemies of restoration and rebuilding.

God at Work

This is a good time to remind ourselves who was rebuilding the wall. God was the Architect, and Nehemiah was the contractor. God was at work. It was His will to rebuild the wall and the gates around the city. Anyone in opposition to that goal was in opposition to God. Nehemiah was determined that no one but God would stop the work.  

Doing God’s Work in the Face of Adversity

Nehemiah finished the wall. Nehemiah achieved this, not by removing the fear of attack and reprisal but by helping the people face their fears, turning them towards God who was their defender and shield. Like Nehemiah, we need to act with God, and for God, even though it means strenuous effort and opposition. We need to trust God, do our day’s work faithfully, and leave the future and the results to Him. 

Discussion Questions:

  1. What can you learn from Nehemiah about handling opposition to God’s work? How might your situation differ from what Nehemiah faced in his day? 
  2. How does praying persistently for a significant period of time prepare us for moments of decision and crises of belief in our lives? 

Giving Up Or Giving In

“ So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.” – Galatians 6:9-10.

Have you ever felt like calling it quits? Have there been moments in your life when it seemed that all the effort and energies you were investing in changed nothing? It feels like no matter what you do, you just can’t get any traction so you never make any real progress. The logical thing to do is give in or give up or both.

On the other hand, there are days when it seems God pulls the curtain back and reveals the true worth and beauty and significance of living a Christ centered life: loving and serving others, seeing lives changed, amazing worship services, etc. 

God cares about us. When we are weak, He is strong. When we feel like quitting we can move forward in His strength. We will feel at times like giving up. God is calling us not to look at our circumstances only but to look at the author and finisher of our faith. It is in and through Jesus Christ that God gives us the strength needed to go a little further. What if, instead of thinking of quitting, we saw every circumstance as an opportunity for something miraculous to take place in all of our lives. It is often a matter of timing.

God doesn’t work to microwave timing. He works to His timing. At the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. The key is to not give up, to keep pressing on, to find an internal strength based on the promises and faithfulness of God that keeps us refreshed and motivated.  

Look at 1 Corinthians 15:58 from two different versions of the Bible. First, from the New King James (NKJV) version: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” Then, from the New Living Translation (NLT): “So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”
 
Never give up in your pursuit of the Lord and His purposes for your life. Don’t stop; keep going. Know for certain that even in your worst moments, that everything you do for Jesus Christ counts for something.  

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are some reasons Jesus gives for trusting in Him, rather than giving up?
  2. What changes can you make this week to be more dependent on God when you feel like giving up?

In The Presence Of God

Come close to God, and God will come close to you….” – James 4:8.  

Imagine the scene that was about to unfold. Exodus 19 tells us about the largest worship gathering that ever took place. Some 6 million people have met in the desert to worship God. They are camped at the base of Mount Sinai. The massive throng strains to listen to Moses tell them how they should prepare for the first worship service of their fledgling nation’s history.

They are told to wash their clothes. They are going to meet God in three days.  They need to be focused on worship. But they are warned to not draw too close to the mountain for God Himself is going to come down. “On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled. Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently.” (Exodus 19:16-18) It must have been breathtaking and scary at the same time. While it would be the understatement of all time to say people were intimidated when they saw the mountain filled with fire and as God descends. But remember that God had just delivered them out of the hands of Egypt with plagues, raging waters, and pillars of fire.

Exodus 24:15-17 adds, “Then Moses climbed up the mountain, and the cloud covered it. And the glory of the Lord settled down on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from inside the cloud. To the Israelites at the foot of the mountain, the glory of the Lord appeared at the summit like a consuming fire.”

When the trumpet blasted, the people were to come to the mountain and meet God. In fear and trembling the people approach the mountain and take their stand. The closer the people came to the mountain, the more clearly they saw the vast distance that separated them from God. There is nothing casual about the arrival of God. They are not fit to meet God. They are not worthy to dwell on His hill. Nor are we. Who has the right to live in the presence of God? Only a person who is perfectly holy has a right to live in the presence of God. And that leaves everyone out.

Fortunately, Christ lived on our behalf. Every moment of righteousness, every good choice, every rightly spoken word, every godly decision, every righteous encounter that was lived by Christ was lived for you and for me. He was achieving the righteousness that we could not achieve on our own. So even with our weakness, setbacks, sin and struggles we can experience the presence of God.  We have the presence of God within us by virtue of His indwelling Holy Spirit (John 14:23; 15:4), and that indwelling presence comes only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think it would be like to be in God’s presence? 
  2. It isn’t a matter of achieving God’s presence, but surrendering to God’s presence that is already within the Christian: Do you agree with that statement? Why or why not?

With Reverence And Holy Fear

Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire. – Hebrews 12:28-29. 

Sometimes things change in our lives when we don’t really see the change happening. Things that were an exciting part of your life, have over time become just part of the day in and day out living? It seems the longer we are engaged in something, the more it becomes part of our life, the more likely that we are less excited over it; excitement dissipates with familiarity? And sometimes that includes the reverence and awe we have for God. 

Sometimes we need to ask ourselves a question: Am I truly serving and worshipping God with our lives with reverence and awe. Yes, we have a reverence for the Lord, but sometimes, we don’t have that sense of awe and wonder. We lose a sense of awe sometimes when we become familiar with something that it becomes commonplace, including our own faith in God. When we look at our Heavenly Father as we sometimes look at our earthly fathers as someone who pays the bills and lets us borrow the car, we have lost sight of who God is. In other words, we bring God down to our level.

It is hard to think of Jesus at our level when you read about Him in this passage of Scripture: “And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.”

Though we have direct access to Him as His children, we ought never to forget that this access was purchased with the precious blood of His only Son. If we truly understand the cross, we will enter God’s presence with a sense of holy reverence and awe. No one who comprehends the incredible price paid at Calvary ever takes his relationship with God for granted.  

You will never find God manifesting His presence in an atmosphere where He is not revered. He will not come near or dwell in an environment where He is not held in awe, esteem, and respect. Psalm 89:7 (NKJV) says, “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.”

There is no One more worthy of our reverence and praise.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What does reverence to God mean to you personally? 
  2. How can we learn to be more intentional to show respect and reverence for God in this coming week(s)? 

Getting And Giving Grace

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” – 1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)  

When we hit the rewind button on our day, we typically find times in the last 24 hours where we were irritated, critical, or upset with others because of their attitudes, actions, or words. Most likely, there will be one or maybe multiple occurrences when we simply won’t let the person(s) off the hook when they make a mistake. And there will be other times when we were willing to extend forgiveness and grace that we experienced in Christ Jesus to others.   

Culture tells us to put our needs before the needs of others, and to treat others as they treat us. The Bible takes the opposite position. Our job as followers of Jesus is to love and extend grace. “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” (Colossians 3:13) 

Responding to others with grace means acknowledging that everyone has areas of weakness and that we all are works in progress. It means loving people in spite of any warts they may have. 1 Peter 3:8 says, “Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.”

Jesus helped us understand this concept when He told His followers to “… love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that…?” (Matthew 5:44-46)

It easy to take grace for granted; at least in the sense that it can be viewed as one-way, God to me. We need to remember that we are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves. We expect others to extend grace to us in certain situations. There are times when we say things in a way that we didn’t intend to, or we do things without thinking about the consequences.  When someone extends grace to us in those moments, we are grateful and relieved. We should strive to be the kind of person who loves others as ourselves and extends grace willingly. Joseph extended grace to his brothers, even though they did not deserve it. That’s why it’s called grace; it’s unearned, unmerited, undeserved. 

The story of Joseph should inspire us to extend grace to others. God knows that it’s not natural for us to show grace to people (especially difficult people), but when we do so, we are imitating Him. 

Discussion Questions:

  1. What does it mean to show grace to others?
  2. Why is it important to show grace to others?

Character In The Midst Of Setbacks

“There is no indication that God explained to Joseph what He was doing through those many years of heartache or how the pieces would eventually fit together. He had no ways of knowing that he would eventually enjoy a triumphal reunion with his family. He was expected, as you and I are, to live out his life one day at a time in something less than complete understanding. What pleased God was Joseph’s faithfulness when nothing made sense.” ― James C. Dobson.

Randy Pausch, the professor whose “last lecture” went viral just before he died, wrote that “experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.” He added that there is good news: in every situation, you’ll always walk away with something, even if that something is more experience.

The wisdom in what Randy said becomes more obvious when things don’t go our way, when things don’t turn out the way we planned or hoped. But regardless of how things turn out, God doesn’t let those experiences go to waste. He’s been in the business of turning troubles into triumphs for a really, really long time. God is more interested in our character than our comfort. God uses setbacks, troubles and tragedies to shape us and mold is into His character.

 If you read the life of Joseph in the book of Genesis you will discover that the pit and the prison were only the first in a long line of inconvenient irritations and setbacks he was to encounter on the road to where God was leading him. When we step back and think about the entire story of Joseph, we can see that God has stepped into this family to do a redemptive work. God’s purpose was to exalt or lift him up to be the next to the Pharaoh in Egypt. Joseph never let his situation cloud his perception of his relationship with God. Whether in good days or bad days, Joseph always knew he had a relationship with God. God was always there for him and with him.   

If God has allowed you to experience disappointments or setbacks in your life, it is generally because He has a greater purpose. Life’s setbacks are often engineered by God to achieve a greater purpose that we could ever imagine. If you’re in the midst of building experience through hard times, remember that God is with you. 

While we may not be called, as Joseph was, to save a nation from starvation, we are no less significant to God. No matter what is happening in our lives today, God is in control. He’s growing us little by little, building us up so that we can accomplish more for His kingdom. Someday we may just look back and see how the experiences we gained during setbacks were part of the preparation for something much bigger.  

Discussion Questions:

  1. Are there any good things happening in your life right now? What might God be up to in the midst of those for your good and His glory?
  2. Are there any hard things happening in your life right now? What might God but up to in the midst of those for your good and His glory?

The Story Of Gideon

“The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel, camping in the land and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys….And they stayed until the land was stripped bare. So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.” – Judges 6:2-6. 

In the midst of the oppression of Israel by the Midianites, Gideon has a conversation with an angel of the Lord: “ Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.” – Judges 6:13   

Gideon could not understand these negative circumstances if God truly was with his people. They had heard the wondrous stories of God’s power, but since they had never seen it displayed, they wondered if it was an urban legend.  Looking at the circumstances, Gideon saw no evidence that God was there or that God cared. So Gideon asked the same question that we still ask today. “why do we have so many setbacks when a loving God is supposedly in control.”

God was not absent. God was preparing Gideon for battle against numerically overwhelming odds: “The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength. Therefore, tell the people, ‘Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home.’” So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight.” (Judges 7:2-3) Now the army was 10,000 to fight an enemy of 135,000.  But it was still too many. A water drinking exercise reduced the 10,000 to 300. The plan was simple but brilliant: Gideon divided the 300 men into three groups, equipped each of the men with a trumpet and a pitcher covering a lighted torch. He instructed them, “As soon as I and those with me blow the rams’ horns, blow your horns, too, all around the entire camp, and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’” (Judges 7:18). In the dark the Midianites panicked at the tumult of shouting, trumpet blasts and breaking pitchers and the sight of torches surrounding them. In their terror and confusion they fought and killed each other. Gideon’s men emerged unscathed.

Their battle with the Midianites shows us how active God is, how He never leaves us or forsakes us all along the way, in both the good and the evil things we experience. “…“I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” (Hebrews 13:5)  No matter what you are experiencing, sweet or bitter, good or evil, no matter how long it has lasted, He has not left you alone.  

Discussion Questions:

  1. What does the Bible mean when it says that the Lord is with you?  
  2. Can you think of a current situation you’re in (or one you might soon be in) that would give you the opportunity to demonstrate to other people that your confidence is in God?