Outcome of Discouragement

Zerich Mon 13 Jul 2009, 2:02 pm

July 13, 2009
The Outcome of Discouragement
2 CORINTHIANS 7:9-10

As we saw yesterday, discouragement is a common problem. It may start with a divided mind but can easily turn into blaming others and wallowing in anger. Sadly, its effects don't stop there.

For one thing, if you regard the one who disappointed you as the cause of all your troubles, you might distance yourself or even end the relationship. On top of that, when disappointments are allowed to build up without resolution, a deep loss of self-worth could result. This obviously could deliver a critical blow to your ministry and interactions with others, since no one likes being around critical, self-hating individuals.

As these pressures develop, there will be obvious effects in your personal life. If you allow your mind to be twisted by the deceptions of discouragement, your words and actions will surely follow.

A dangerous drift in your spiritual walk is the ultimate consequence of discouragement. God will seem distant, uncaring, or perhaps even absent, because you've built such high walls around yourself. Things that were once cornerstones in your life--like worship, Bible study, and prayer--easily fall by the wayside. Before long, you will be surrounded only by your disappointments and negativity, unable to see anything of positive value at all.

Discouragement can eat away at a believer's relationships and productivity. Don't allow disappointments to build up and take such a toll on your life. Psalm 40:2 is a wonderful reminder that the Lord can lift you out of the "miry clay" and "set [your] feet upon a rock making [your] footsteps firm."