Good morning people who find hope in God

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Another enemy of moving forward is discouragement. Oh how easy it is to feel discouraged when things don’t go according to the picture we had in our mind. It’s easy and understandable to feel discouraged when people let us down and when dreams are delayed. Is there a way out of discouragement?

Like fear, discouragement is overcome with a conviction that the Lord our God is with us everywhere we go. The challenge is when this absolute truth is only mere words to us. A revelation is needed. I encourage you to ask God for revelation on this truth today.

I think that discouragement is largely based in a questioning of God’s sovereignty in our lives. Thoughts like “Why would God let this happen” are common. It sounds harsh but I don’t intend it to be; I too get discouraged. But look at where this instruction is in this verse. It starts with ‘Have I not commanded you”, followed by a command to be strong and courageous and ends with a reminder that God is always with us. Again I see that this is possible (otherwise God would not have said ‘do not be discouraged’) and it is a choice.

I’m reminded of the terrible story where David and his mighty men found that their city had been attacked and their families were taken captive. David had understandable feelings but he processed them how God wants us to process them.

1 Samuel 30:6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him (this would upset me!): each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength (another version says ‘encouraged himself’) in the Lord his God.

David made the choice. We can too.