by Eugene Higgins
Discouragement
Many experts fear that the general public is going to experience a dangerous emotional depression as a result of this virus and the sustained isolation it is requiring. There is no doubt that loneliness can be lethal. Deprived of genuine Christian fellowship (the face-to-face – not the Facebook – kind) the strongest believer can experience discouragement. The late Truett Cathy, who founded Chick Fil-A (thank you Mr. Cathy!) was a very active believer, a Sunday school teacher, and a public speaker. He frequently asked this question: “How do you know when people need encouragement?” After allowing his audience a moment to reflect, he supplied the answer, “If they’re breathing!”
I think I am safe in assuming that we are all breathing, so it is a good reminder not only to try to encourage one another but to guard against discouragement in our own spirits. And there is a lot to discourage us just now! Gospel work is throttled; meetings and conferences are canceled; some families are separated; schedules are disrupted; fellowship with one another is limited. And the media, for some reason, seem determined to paint as bleak a picture as possible. Having lost a lot of their clout in recent days, they seem bent on flexing their journalistic muscles and showing that they can still influence our attitudes. One would think that the black death, malaria, small pox, and the Spanish flu have all morphed into COVID-19. (For our own mental health, we all need to be selective as to what we read and to what we listen. Our hearts will get far more cheer from a New Testament text than from the New York Times).
Not to draw too fine a line, I think there is an important distinction between being disappointed and being discouraged. When we are disappointed, it is because an “appointment” or expectation was not met. But discouragement is something deeper and more dangerous. The etymology of the word is from “dis” (literally, “away” or “lack of”) and “courage” (“heart”). So discouragement robs us of strength, heart, courage.
At Kadesh-Barnea, Moses exhorted the people, “Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged” (Deut 1:21). But 10 of the spies “discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them” (Num 32:9). Discouragement led to disobedience which led to departure and then to disaster. Having lost the courage required to obey the Lord, they spent the rest of their life aimlessly wandering in the desert.
For fifty-five years, Amy Carmichael served as a missionary in India. During that time, she suffered frequent persecution, innumerable setbacks, and numbing disappointments. She became convinced that Satan has six particular weapons that he employs in an attempt to destroy a believer’s faith. Here is her list. Notice where it begins and where it ends.
- Discouragement
- A slow loss of spiritual zeal, (or spiritual mediocrity)
- Spiritual flattery arising from pride
- Discontentment
- Spiritual dryness
- Depression
How can we avoid the gloomy shadow of discouragement? Two wonderful examples from scripture may help to give us fresh “heart.” At a distressing point in his life, David – surveying the charred remains of Ziklag, knowing that his family and possessions had fallen into the hands of his enemies, and hearing the talk of some of his followers who wanted to stone him – did something deeply significant: “David encouraged himself in the LORD his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). Had he looked around, all David would have seen was a holocaust. Looking up, he saw hope.
But “great David’s greater Son” is the supreme example for us. Isaiah recorded of Him, “He shall not fail nor be discouraged” (42:4). The One Who “endured the contradiction of sinners against Himself”; the One against Whom “Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together”; the One Whom the world hated “first of all” – He never lost heart or was brought down in discouragement. And when we fail or are discouraged, He never gives up on any of us – “A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench.” He patiently, graciously, skillfully works in our life to make us more like Him, to mend the break and fan the flame. No wonder David exclaimed, “Wherefore Thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like Thee, neither is there any God beside Thee” (2 Sa 7:22).
Apparently the Psalmist realized the importance of talking to himself (BTW, never allow yourself to talk to you!) He wrote, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the health of my countenance, and my God” (Psalm 42:11). “Hope thou in God” – 4 good words for us to carry through the day today as we “encourage ourselves in the Lord.”
“Where could I go, oh where could I go? Seeking a refuge for my soul,Needing a friend, to help me in the end, where could I go, but to the Lord?”