Discouragement Part two

Day three hundred twenty-four

I am having one of those days where I just feel off.  I'm not sure why, but it happens every once in a while. So I am particularly thankful for my scripture study today.  I always feel better when I read the scriptures and the topic today seems particularly appropriate.  I am thankful for a Father that loves me and knows me so well.  He has impeccable timing! 

Nehemiah 4

We became familiar with the causes of discouragement - ridicule and repression can lead to fatigue, frustration, and fear in the last post.  The good news is that discouragement is curable!  Let's take a look at three cures for discouragement:

Request God’s help
Nehemiah requested God’s help in chapter one for Jerusalem. In chapter two, he prayed a "quickie prayer” while he was in the presence of the king. Now, in chapter four, we see two more prayers. He prayed before proceeding. Take a look at the first prayer in verses 4-5:

"Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:  And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders."

This was quite a prayer – he was praying for God to judge the enemy. He knew that the enemies were really fighting against God and so he asks God to deal with them.  There were no long lectures to the workers, no organizing raiding parties against the enemies, or creating propaganda campaigns to put a different spin on things. Nehemiah followed a simple principle when people talk against you, don’t talk back – talk to God.  I love this advice: Turn it over to God through prayer! Verse 9 tells us that they prayed to God and posted a guard.  Prayer followed by an action towards progress, sounds like a good step towards fighting discouragement.

Reorganize your priorities
 In verse 13 Nehemiah said, “Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows."

Nehemiah had already organized the people in chapter 3 and they had finished half of their task. Now, however, a new situation had come about that required a change in organization. If the enemies were going to attack they would most likely do so at the weakest places. So Nehemiah put guards at all the vulnerable spots. This served two purposes – it discouraged the enemy and it encouraged the people because it dealt with their fear.

When we are discouraged, one of the things we can do is reorganize our priorities. We can look at our life and adopt a change in approach instead of becoming so discouraged that we quit. Adopt a new attitude. Reorganize your schedule.  Make time in your schedule to pray to God on a regular basis. Don’t be overcome by discouragement. Do something about it!

One more thought - we don't have to fight discouragement alone - there is power in a team.  In verse 16 the workers reorganized again by dividing responsibilities – half worked and the other half kept watch. They worked together as a team.  Sometimes sharing a burden with someone else is enough to lift some of the discouragement we are feeling. 

Remember who God is
After looking everything over and sensing the discouragement within his team, Nehemiah rallied his troops in verse 14: “…Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

Nehemiah knew, even in the face of opposition, that the success of the wall was wholly dependent upon God who inspired its beginning. Verse 10 was true – the people could not rebuild the wall on their own. They needed to remember God and what He had promised.

This is one area I need to work on.  It’s easy to forget God when things are tough. I need to be reminded that He is always there for me. The scriptures tell us that we are to remember that He is great and revered. God is more than able to deal with our discouragement.

When you feel down, turn your attention from your discouragement to the One who is able to do something about it. Remember the Lord. Remember His promises. Remember His goodness. Remember His power. Our God is great and revered! Remember Him.

When we remember God it is like having a safety net. No matter how discouraged we get, He will stretch out His arms to protect us. As a result, we can live and work freely and without fear, knowing that we are protected, safe, and secure.

Like the wall being half built, I think I am about halfway, if even that, in my Christian life. I have a ways to go and I am well aware of the rubble and the mess. And, like the wall workers, it’s so easy to get discouraged and not remember the Lord who is great and revered. 

But I know the end of this story, the wall does get built!  The people work through their discouragement, it required using all the "cures" we've talked about, but it got done.  This gives me hope, which is at the other end of the spectrum from discouragement, and all I've done is read about it!   Imagine what will happen when I apply these "cures" to my own life! I might actually survive building my own spiritual walls more than halfway!