Living
in a different culture has made me learn that I need to control my reactions
more than ever. I remember when I first arrived in the Philippines; I began
riding the public transport called a Jeepney. They look like military troop
transports; a long covered back area with two benches on each side of the cab.
They get so crowded that people are squeezed in like a sardine can. This one
day I was in the Jeepney, we were packed in so tight that I had my arms
horizontal behind me so there would be more room, Jeepney drivers get mad at me
because with my arms at my side I take three Filipino seat, but only pay for
one seat. So here I was sitting with my arms stretched out behind several
Filipinos in both directions. The Jeepney stopped and a young man got on and
walked up and down the cab looking for a seat, which did not exist. Then he
stopped in front of me and sat down on my knees. Everyone on the Jeepney went
on like nothing was strange. So I just sat there realizing that I am no longer
in Kansas…Toto! After a few stops several seats had opened up…but my lap
partner just continued to keep his seat…on my knees! I chose to continue to
ignore the strangeness of all this from my point, but I did get off at the next
stop, and then jumped on the next Jeepney!
We all have a “norm” in how we deal with situations, this is
exactly what we need to identify when we are in the midst of discouragement. When
we are discouraged, if we are not careful we can move to inaction and do
nothing but become even more depressed.
Let’s review first: When we are discouraged we need to:
First
step - Establish certain things: {1} Set The Record Straight - a. Deal With
Guilt; b. Deal With Lies; {2} Separate yourself from sources of discouragement
- NOT PROBLEMS BUT SOURCES OF PROBLEMS - a. Establish a time and place to commune
with the Lord; b. Turn off people with little or no faith; c. Seek out examples
- Christian Biographies; {3} Stand Still - Do not make decisions in that state
of mind - No sense of reality
Second
step – We need to change certain things: (1) we often need to change the direction of
attention…not necessarily where we are moving, but where our attention is
moving. We need understand our position in Christ: Why? a. So we can help
others…including those with no relationship to the Lord. B. If Christ suffered
what makes us think we will not? He showed us through example that our Father
is faithful. c. When we see our brothers discouraged we can become their
comfort.
There are several other things we need to change:
{2} Change your normal reactions – I will give you several
examples
·
It is normal when down to complain and throw a
pity party.
·
We need to: move to…thanksgiving? Yes, this is a
total act of the will; there is no way you are going to feel your way through
this one. Our normal reactions will be controlled by our emotions. It takes
spiritual discipline to flex the will over emotions.
1 Thess 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give
thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
2 Chron 20:1, 15, 20-24 After this, the Moabites and
Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to make war on Jehoshaphat…He said:
"Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is
what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast
army. For the battle is not yours, but God's…Early in the morning they left for
the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen
to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you
will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful."
After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and
to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of
the army, saying: "Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures
forever." As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against
the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were
defeated. The men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to
destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from
Seir, they helped to destroy one another. When the men of Judah came to the
place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only
dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped.
Tim Hansel said, "If you can't change
circumstances, change the way you respond to them."
Someone else said, "When change is successful we look back and
call it growth."
·
Normally we draw inside and go into seclusion –
this is different from a meditative time, we all need that, this is when we
separate ourselves from the Lord and those you need.
·
We need to: Seek support – Move toward God and
towards the support the Body of Christ offers.
Our normal reaction will produce an unbiblical pride. That’s because
all of us are image conscious, which is human, but we must refuse to allow that
to control us.
Matt 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and
burdened, and I will give you rest.
Gal 6:2 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you
will fulfill the law of Christ.
Rom 12:4-5 Just as each of us has one body with many
members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we
who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Heb 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one
another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as
some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-- and all the
more as you see the Day approaching.
{3} Change your idea of success
Our world
has defined this world in a way that has nothing to do with the way our God
would. We have to recognize that the pressure the world puts on us to conform
to its idea of success impacts us; how much depends on what definition we hold
and how committed to that definition are we. If we are discouraged in any area
of our life – we need to protect ourselves from folding under that pressure and
seeking the world’s concept of success and its approval.
One thing
that can help immensely is to reflect on the Bible’s success stories: Joseph,
Daniel, Esther, The Disciples, etc. All would be considered losers in the
world’s eyes, yet God turned their lives into complete success stories in the
eternal perspective.
Just one
thought I would leave with you: I have found that the normal path to see God’s
success in your life is – God give you a vision, then kills that vision so He
can resurrect it His way. Dealing with discouragement will be a part of the
path, but your focus will make all the difference.
Meditation Questions: How much time are you spending thinking
about God versus about yourself and your problems? What is your idea of
success? What is vision to you? What do you think you deserve? Explain. Can you
thank God for where you are at even if you do not understand why you are there?
Write down your idea of your vision and tell God you are willing to yield to
His idea of His vision for you!
